Sunshine Coast ramps up water restrictions amid severe drought
Posted September 7, 2023 3:32 pm.
Last Updated September 7, 2023 5:44 pm.
Tighter water restrictions are coming to parts of the Sunshine Coast, with the regional district saying those on the Chapman Water System will move to Stage 4 (severe) conservation regulations Friday.
The district says the Chapman system services homes and businesses in Halfmoon Bay, Sechelt, Roberts Creek, Elphinstone, and part of West Howe Sound.
Sunshine Coast Regional District board chair Leonard Lee says the measures are being put in place to make sure they have enough water for essentials in the months ahead.
“We have no idea if we are going to have structural fires or we’re going to have wildfires in the interface but we definitely have to plan as if we are going to have those things,” Lee told CityNews. “We have to ensure we have sufficient water for the fish and also for firefighting, the hospital, and basic human needs for safety and drinking.”
Lee says residents understand that this is the result of climate change getting worse, and he says people have stepped up to do what needs to be done.
Stage 4 bans all outdoor use of Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) drinking water, and prohibits watering gardens and greenhouses, the use of water for construction activities, as well as for road and property maintenance, among other activities.
“Under these drought conditions, water use priorities focus on water for human health, firefighting, and minimum creek flow requirements,” the SCRD says in its online bulletin.
A list of banned activities under Stage 4 water regulations in the Sunshine Coast Regional District. (Courtesy SCRD)
“Due to sustained heat and hardly any rain in the past few months, Chapman Lake levels have dropped, triggering the need to start using the Chapman siphons and Edwards Lake storage,” said SCRD CAO and acting General Manager of Infrastructure Services Dean McKinley.
“This has unfortunately led us to have to make the difficult decision to move to severe water regulations.”
Businesses and residents are being encouraged to “plan a water reduction strategy” to help conserve as much water as possible.
The district says commercial farms are exempt for food crops for a two-week period, starting the first day of the ramped-up regulations. The SCRD is also offering a bulk water filling station in Langdale to help businesses in farming or construction affected by Stage 4 restrictions.
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The SCRD says those found violating Stage 4 regulations may be fined without warning. Fines can be $500 each under Stage 4.
“The fire danger rating is currently very high on parts of the Sunshine Coast,” said Manager of Protective Services Matt Treit. “On behalf of all our Fire Chiefs, I ask that our community obey Stage 4 water conservation regulations to ensure we have adequate water supply in the case of wildfire on the Sunshine Coast.”
Anyone who would like to make a bylaw complaint can do so online at www.scrd.ca/bylaw-complaint-form.
