Victoria, BC– The Capital Regional District (CRD) Board has approved an amendment to CRD Electoral Area Water Conservation Bylaw No. 4492, which regulates water use for local services providing drinking water in the Southern Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island, and Juan de Fuca Electoral Areas. The changes to Bylaw No. 4492 will come into effect May 1, 2025.
Over the past several years, seasonal droughts have increasingly stressed source water supplies in our smaller local services, making water conservation measures for local services more critical. Bylaw No. 4492, adopted in 2023, has been amended to include a fourth water conservation stage intended to restrict outdoor and residential indoor water use as much as possible at times of severe water shortage. Water use restrictions in any stage do not apply to nurseries, farms, turf farms or tree farms.
Water Restrictions under Stage 4 are as follows:
- All outdoor use of Water is prohibited; and
- Residential indoor use of Water is restricted to drinking, food preparation and Non-discretionary Sanitation Purposes, such as personal hygiene, washing clothes and maintaining indoor sanitary conditions.
Water users in the affected service area will be notified when Stage 4 restrictions are activated through signage in the community and updates to the impacted water system web pages. The CRD will also issue a public alert notification system (PANS) to the community.
Register for PANS at www.crd.ca/pans.
Learn more about water conservation and water restrictions at: www.crd.ca/programs-services/water/water-restrictions.
For tips and tricks on how to conserve water at home, visit: https://www.crd.ca/environment/water-conservation/conserving-water-home.
The CRD delivers regional, sub-regional and local services to 13 municipalities and three electoral areas on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Governed by a 24-member Board of Directors, the CRD works collaboratively with First Nations and government partners to enable sustainable growth, foster community well-being, and develop cost-effective infrastructure while continuing to provide core services to residents throughout the region. Visit us online at www.crd.ca.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Andy Orr, Senior Manager
CRD Corporate Communications
Tel: 250.360.3229
Cell: 250.216.5492
