Sunshine Coast businesses grapple with drought

While much of southern British Columbia is experiencing dry conditions, the Sunshine Coast has resorted to declaring a state of local emergency, forcing businesses in the area to make some changes.

On Monday, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) made the declaration, citing a “risk to water supply for users on the Chapman Water System.” The order calls for non-essential commercial uses of water on the system to halt, with breweries, cideries, and distilleries among those affected.

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Clinton McDougall, owner of Sunday Cider in Gibsons, says he’s had to shut down production.

“We’ll still be able to stay open with what inventory we do have,” he told CityNews on Tuesday.

“It’s a pretty big impact and it’s especially challenging right now as it’s the peak of harvest. Apples are getting picked and pressed and there’s a lot of work to do back there. We’re going to have to shut everything down and just kind of enter into survival mode,” McDougall said.

 

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While there’s no water in the cider that McDougall produces, the order has still prompted changes to his business.

“I think it means that waiting it out until the rain so if we can if we can just pause things enough and just keep everything healthy,” he said. “We’re going to look to our community and hopefully be able to get just a small amount of water just to keep things healthy.”

Bricker Cider, another cidery in the area, is a little more fortunate, relying on a well as its water source. Owner Morgan Farrer says her business only uses water for cleaning and sanitation.

“Luckily, it’s a time of year when there’s not a lot of irrigation needed, we’ve already harvested all our apples,” she said. “It’s so strange to be living in this climate right now. We live on the west coast of Canada in a rainforest and there’s no water.”

While Farrer’s business is relatively unscathed by the emergency declaration right now, she’s fearful of what could happen if the drought continues.

“If no water comes and they say that all commercial or non-essential businesses have to shut down, then we will be [affected]. At the end of the day … a restaurant or tap room you could argue is non-essential,” she said.

Another popular business on the Sunshine Coast, Persephone Brewing, announced on social media that it is “ceasing all brewing operations until our community is through this immediate crisis.”

 

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The SCRD says it has secured a water supply to last until early November, with the state of emergency intended to expand it if the region doesn’t see significant rainfall in the weeks ahead.

Much of B.C.’s South Coast region is under a level 5 drought advisory, with the SCRD the first to declare a state of emergency over it.