Water Restrictions

Stage 3 watering restrictions are reserved for periods of severe drought.

Lawn Watering

Lawn watering is not permitted and any Water Exemption Permits are invalidated.

Gardens

Watering gardens, trees, shrubs, and flowers via sprinkler or soaker hose is prohibited in Stage 3.

Watering via handheld hose, water container, or drip irrigation is still permitted any day at any time.

Edible plants may continue to be watered via any means at any time.

Pressure Washing

Washing impermeable surfaces is prohibited except for:

• Health and safety reasons
• To prepare a surface for painting or similar treatment

Pools & Fountains

Topping up or filling pools, hot tubs, and fountains is prohibited in Stage 3.

Vehicles and Boats

Washing vehicles and boats during stage 3 is prohibited except to clean windows, lights, mirrors, license plates, and boat engines for safety.

Commercial vehicle washes must observe restrictions based on the date the facility became active and their wash system installed.

Lawn Watering

Lawn watering is not permitted.

Gardens

Watering gardens by any means is not permitted. This includes edible plants.

Pressure Washing

Pressure washing is not permitted unless ordered by a regulatory authority for a health and safety reason.

Pools & Fountains

Filling of pools, hot tubs and fountains is prohibited.

Vehicles and Boats

Only windows, lights, mirrors, license plates, and boat engines may be washed for safety reasons. No other washing may occur.

Water use increases by up to 50% in the summer, primarily due to lawn watering. Restrictions around water use help ensure drinking water isn't wasted.

Water usage from sources not connected to the municipal water supply is exempt from the bylaw, as private well water is under Provincial jurisdiction. However, we encourage all property owners to be good environmental stewards and follow water use restrictions. A mix of groundwater and purchased Metro Vancouver surface water is used in the Township. Water restrictions are in place to protect our shared drinking water to help ensure a continued source of water for all.

Yes, sports playing fields and school fields also have watering restrictions during Stages 1, 2, and 3 of the Drinking Water Conservation Bylaw 2018 No. 5321. Some fields have a sand base for year round use, allowing higher water infiltration and faster drainage to accommodate wet winter months. Due to this sand base, these playing field do need to water during the summer to prevent drying out and potential die-off. The use of sand base fields is consistent with other local municipalities.

Township of Langley staff are aware of water conservation, and only water to the extent required for facility maintenance. The majority of parks and playing fields use an automated watering system connected to a computerized central irrigation system. The computerized system uses local water data to calculate the evapotranspiration rate. The system then applies a measured amount of water to the soil to maintain specific soil moisture. Generally, parks and playing fields receive infrequent watering, but for longer periods of time, to force the turf to grow longer roots. Longer roots make turf more durable and resilient.

All Township spray parks implement the following water conservation features:

• Reduced flow components operate with less water.
• Push button activation so parks do not operate when no one is present.
• Sequential programming so not all park features are on at the same time (which helps limit water usage).
• Timed operation so the park cannot be activated during off hours, as well as the water sequence turning off minutes after each button activation.

And almost all Township spray parks handle runoff through surface swales and channels to allow off-gassing of chlorine before the water is diverted into natural watercourses where it:

• Provides additional stream flow during low-flow seasons in connected watercourses and increases fish habitat.
• Lowers water temperature in connected creeks and streams to improve fish habitat.
• Provides more opportunities for aquifer recharge through natural watercourse systems.

If you know your neighbour, you may wish to have a quick chat with them to ensure they have the right details for this year's watering restrictions. Feel free to mention the Township’s Water Restrictions website address with them so they can find more information online: tol.ca/waterrestrictions.

Otherwise, call our Engineering team at 604-532-7300 to place a service request regarding watering outside of permitted times. The team will be able to assist best.

Although a healthy lawn only requires one hour of watering per week, Metro Vancouver has observed some properties watering their lawns any time watering is allowed, regardless of how much water is actually needed. The new automatic vs. manual distinction helps ensure those with automated systems do not leave their systems on for hours on end. Differing times for automatic and manual watering are implemented to help control overall demand on the distribution system while recognizing those watering by manual methods must get up to turn on their sprinklers.

The summer of 2021 brought an extended period of extreme heat and sun to the Metro Vancouver region leading to a significant increase in water use. In 2021 the region consumed in excess of 1.5 billion litres of water per day for a period of 40 consecutive days. On average, water consumption exceeds this threshold for only 14 consecutive days. The increase in water use during the summer months is primarily due to increased lawn and garden watering.

Stage 2 restrictions were avoided in 2021 in large part due to a larger than normal snowpack. This resulted in an extended melting period which helped avoid the need to move to Stage 2 Restrictions. As climate change makes weather patterns and in turn supply less predictable, it’s important to reduce consumption of drinking water to ensure adequate supply for every year.

Lawn watering is prohibited in the evenings as this is a period when demand for water is highest for other household activities such as washing clothes or showering. Evening watering has been prohibited for over a decade.