At a time when Metro Vancouver is facing drought conditions and a vanishing snowpack, some municipalities appear to be doing a better job than others when it comes to conserving water. According to a Metro residential water-usage report for May, the District of North Vancouver recorded the highest water consumption per person each day at 371 litres. The region's two biggest cities fell in the middle of the pack, with Vancouver at 244 litres and Surrey at 266 litres. New Westminster and Coquitlam both reported 178 litres per person each day.
Factors behind varying consumption
The District of North Vancouver said in a statement that it has a larger share of single-family homes—about half the district’s total housing supply—compared with other municipalities, and those generally use more water than other housing types. The district noted that Metro Vancouver’s figures reflect a snapshot from spring/early summer before Stage 3 water restrictions came into effect and when outdoor use typically increases significantly.
Metro’s water-usage data for May was collected when the region was still under Stage 2 water restrictions. Stage 3 restrictions prohibit all residential and commercial lawn-watering, car-washing, power-washing, and the filling of pools, hot tubs and decorative fountains. The regional authority said Thursday it did not want to comment on why some municipalities use more water than others, noting that many factors impact water use per capita, including land-use patterns, housing age and density, extent of metering, billing structures and other demographics like income.
Regional restrictions and expert views
“Regional water restrictions are designed to drive down demand across the region, irrespective of per capita consumption estimates or any other metric,” Metro said in an email. Peter Ross, a senior scientist with the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, said Canada “suffers from an embarrassment of riches” when it comes to water supply. “We are blessed with having 25 per cent of the world’s fresh water supply,” Ross said. “But the reality is that a lot of those bodies of water are vulnerable to climate change, and things are drying out in different areas in British Columbia, over the last five or six years.”
Water restrictions are the new normal, Ross said, adding that everyone should get accustomed to them. “We, as Canadians, waste a lot of water. We use more water per capita than just about any other country in the world. Having a sprinkler out to keep our grass green in July when it doesn’t rain for six weeks, I don’t think that makes a lot of sense,” he said.
Water metering success in New Westminster
Kwaku Agyare-Manu, New West’s deputy director of engineering and public works, said water-metering has shown success in the municipality in decreasing water usage. “By fully metering the multi-family, commercial, institutional and industrial sectors, we capture over 70 per cent of the city’s total water volume,” he said in a statement. “Focusing on metered volume rather than meter count is a superior conservation metric; it allows us to monitor our largest consumers (e.g., Kruger, Royal Columbian Hospital, etc.) and proactively identify and mitigate hidden water loss (e.g., leaks).”
