Stage 1 Watering Schedule of the Water Conservation Bylaw No. 4099 for the Regional Water Supply System is in effect May 1 through September 30 every year.
Watering Schedules
The Capital Regional District (CRD) Water Conservation Bylaw 4099 applies to any customers of the Regional Water Supply System receiving drinking water from the Sooke Lake Reservoir in the Greater Victoria area, including residential, commercial, institutional, and municipal properties.
Here is a map [PDF/857KB]that shows who receives drinking water from Regional Water Supply System.
The CRD appreciates your water saving efforts and would like to thank all residents in the capital region for your continued support protecting our drinking water supply.
The following schedule is in effect every year May 1 - September 30.
Lawn Watering (Residential, Commercial, or Institutional)
Street Address
Schedule
Odd Number
Thursdays & Sundays
Any method:
4-10am or 7-10pm
Timed/automatic irrigation systems: 12:01-10 am or 7-10 pm
Even Number
Wednesdays & Saturdays
Any method:
4-10am or 7-10pm
Timed/automatic irrigation systems: 12:01-10 am or 7-10 pm
In the case of a multi-unit commercial or residential complex such as, but not limited to, a townhouse, condominium or other strata-titled property, the address number means the street address that is assigned to the entire complex, and not the individual unit number.
Established trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetable gardens
Method
Schedule
Sprinkler
Any day 4-10am or 7-10pm
Hand Watering & Micro/Drip Irrigation
Any day, any time
A permit is not required to install new sod and/or newly seeded lawns. Water wisely and efficiently between the hours of 4 - 10 am and 7 - 10 pm for new sod on installation and during the first 21 days after installation, and newly seeded lawns until growth is established or for 49 days after installations, whichever is less. This applies to newly seeded lawns and patches of re-seeding.
Once your new lawn is established, please revert to your designated lawn watering days and times. Remember your lawn only requires one inch of water each week, including rainfall.
A permit is not required to install new sod and/or newly seeded lawns. Water wisely and efficiently between the hours of 4 - 10 am and 7 - 10 pm for new sod on installation and during the first 21 days after installation, and newly seeded lawns until growth is established or for 49 days after installations, whichever is less. This applies to newly seeded lawns and patches of re-seeding.
Once your new lawn is established, please revert to your designated lawn watering days and times. Remember your lawn only requires one inch of water each week, including rainfall.
You may power wash sidewalks, driveways or parking lots, exterior windows or exterior building surfaces using no more water than necessary to complete the task. Avoid excess water run-off and water spreading to surrounding areas. Please be water wise and use a stiff broom to clean outdoor surfaces just as quickly and uses far less drinking water.
A person may wash their vehicle or boat anytime using a handheld container or a handheld hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle, and at car dealerships or commercial car washes.
Please wash your vehicle on the lawn, when possible, to minimize water waste and reduce runoff like oil, gas and metals from going down the storm strain and entering our waterways and marine environments.
Follow the Clean Drain Dry procedure for your boat to reduce the spread of invasive species. Boats and other watercrafts like kayaks and canoes, can easily transfer harmful invasive species from one waterbody to another. Clean off all plant parts, animals, and mud from boat and equipment (e.g., boots, waders, fishing gear). Drain onto land all items that can hold water (e.g., buckets, wells, bilge, and ballast). Dry all items completely before launching into another body of water.
You may use water to fill wading pools, swimming pools, hot tubs, or garden pond during Stage 1 Water Restrictions. An uncovered swimming pool can lose up to one inch of water a week. Consider covering your water features to prevent evaporation loss.
Municipalities may water lawns and boulevards on Mondays and Fridays during the hours of 1 - 10am and 7 - 10pm.
All public authorities may water public, institutional or community playing fields* during the hours of 1 - 10am and 7 - 10pm on any day except Wednesday. Watering outside the allowed times will result in a permanent loss of plant material.
All public authorities may water trees, shrubs, flowers & vegetable gardens at the times and in the manner prescribed under Stage 1.
*Public, institutional or community playing field means grass, sod or turf covered grounds that are owned, maintained or operated by a public authority, or by a private institution such as a private school and are designed to be played upon, or that are used for sporting or other community events and activities, but for certainty does not include a lawn or turf on private residential property.
During Stage 1, golf course owners and operators may water fairways on any day during the hours of 4-10 am and 7-10 pm.
Golf greens and tees many be watered on any day if failure to do so will result in permanent loss of plant material.
Trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables grown on golf courses may be watered in accordance with Stage 1 designated times.
Nurseries, farms, turf farms and tree farms are exempt from the Water Conservation Bylaw 4099.
Advancing to a Higher Water Use Restriction Stage
As per the requirements of Bylaw No. 4099, the following factors may be considered when amending or elevating to a more restrictive stage of water use restrictions:
time of year and typical seasonal water demand trends
precipitation and temperature conditions and forecasts
current and forecasted storage levels and storage volumes of CRD reservoirs or water systems and draw down rates
stream flows and inflows into CRD reservoirs and water systems
water usage, recent consumption and trends, and customer compliance with restrictions on water use
water system performance
the effects of climate change
any other factor considered relevant for making a determination
The Regional Water Supply Commission, in the case of the Regional Water Supply Service, may amend the effective time period for Stage 1, or terminate or bring into effect a stage more restrictive than Stage 1 at any time of the year for any period of time.
When a more restrictive stage is required, the water use restrictions prescribed for that stage take effect 48 hours after the notice for that stage and remain in effect until that stage is terminated. A stage will remain in effect until it is terminated under the bylaw, or until the commencement of another stage.
CRD Water Restriction Stages and Provincial Drought Levels
The provincial government has a 0 to 5 drought level ranking system, with Level 5 rated as the most severe. Level 1 means there is sufficient water to meet human and ecosystem needs. At Level 5, the highest drought level, there is insufficient water to meet human and ecosystem needs and the Province has the authority to require reduced water use such as reducing the amount of water provincial water license holders can take or temporarily suspend them.
The Drought Levels for large watershed areas are ranked based on snow accumulation, hot and dry weather or delay in rainfall. These levels do not reflect local water source levels of specific water sources. The province specifies that the local authority bylaws and water restriction stages implemented by water purveyors and water utilities water restriction stages are based on highly local drought conditions, including available storage in local water infrastructure. Although the provincial drought levels increase with drought, and so may local water restriction stages, local decisions on appropriate water restriction stages are not required to match the provincial drought levels at the regional scale, and often will not.
The CRD Water Conservation Bylaw has three stages specific to the capital region. The stages are based on the water demand, storage levels in the Sooke Lake Reservoir, and temperature and precipitation conditions and forecasts. The Bylaw helps to ensure there is an adequate supply for drinking water demands, fire protection, water quality and ecosystem health. Due to the stable water supply and conservation measures taken by residents, the CRD has not needed to implement Stage 2 or 3 water restrictions since the Sooke Lake Reservoir dam was raised in 2002.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since the Sooke Lake Reservoir receives little to no inflow (rainfall) between May and late October when fall and winter precipitation begins, the summer use draws down the reservoir level, meaning Greater Victoria's drinking water supply relies entirely on the water stored during the winter months. Starting conservation in May, early in the season, we can ensure there is enough available to meet drinking water demand, for fire protection and to support fish and ecosystems, especially through the dry, hot months.
We also do not have exclusive rights to the water in the Sooke Watershed. Under federal and provincial legislation, we cannot take water from the Sooke Watershed without consideration of ecological impacts downstream of the dam, meaning we cannot completely empty the Sooke Lake Reservoir. To meet these requirements, an agreement was negotiated between the CRD, the federal and provincial governments and the T'Sou-ke First Nation to share this limited resource.
In addition, population growth in the capital region is continuing to grow. Water conservation and efficiency programs, including the water conservation bylaw, prolong the need to construct such infrastructure expansions.
The capacity of the Sooke Lake Reservoir is 92.7 million cubic meters or 20.4 billion gallons.
Green lawns only need one inch (2.5 cm) of water per week including rainfall even in the driest conditions. To determine how long it takes to water an inch, place containers (marked at one inch) around your lawn. Time how long it takes to fill the containers with water (an inch or 2.5 cm). The recorded time is the maximum time required to run your sprinkler each week. If it took an hour to fill the container one inch with water, the lawn could be watered for one hour once a week or for 30 minutes twice a week.
Make sure your sprinkler is only watering lawn and garden landscapes and not the driveway or sidewalk.
Our regions water consumption nearly doubles in the summer months in part due to outdoor irrigation. Given the most common residential landscape in the CRD continues to be the lawn, it's where we often see the most water waste.
The CRD conducts its business within the Territories of many First Nations, all of whom have a long-standing relationship with the land and waters from time immemorial that continues to this day. Statement of Reconciliation
