Sunshine Coast declares state of emergency over drought
Posted October 17, 2022 5:25 pm.
Last Updated October 17, 2022 9:13 pm.
A B.C. community has declared a state of local emergency (SOLE) as a drought drags on and the area risks running out of drinking water.
The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD), the District of Sechelt and the shíshálh Nation issued the declaration Monday, saying the first order affects non-essential commercial uses of water, including for swimming pools, breweries, non-medical cannabis production, concrete, asphalt, and gravel businesses.
A declaration says the Chapman Water System is at risk of being exhausted due to drought and it supplies about 90 per cent of the population in the area.
“At this time, the SCRD has secured water supply through to early November. The SOLE is being put in place to further secure and expand water supply should there be no significant rainfall on the Sunshine Coast in the
coming weeks,” the community declared in a statement Monday.
The Sunshine Coast is one of many communities in B.C. experiencing Level 5 drought conditions — the most severe in the province’s classification scale.
Weeks of unseasonably hot and dry weather have parched several parts of B.C. and both Gibsons and Sechelt within the Sunshine Coast broke daily heat records on Sunday.
There may be some relief on the way with Environment Canada predicting rain for the region by Friday.
Residents in the community whose business involves any use of non-essential water must cease the use of treated drinking water from the Chapman Water System by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m.
