Sunshine Coast faces spectre of water shortages as restrictions increase

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For years, Dale Peterson has been growing vegetables in Gibsons, British Columbia, on the Sunshine Coast north of Vancouver.

As of Thursday, if he wants to water any of his peppers or tomatoes, he'll have to use grey water salvaged from his tub or sink to do it, now that the Sunshine Coast Regional District has moved to the highest – Stage 4 – level of outdoor water restrictions. The upgraded water limits ban all outdoor watering, including when using a garden hose, watering cans or drip irrigation systems. Only grey water can be used.

"All that any of us can do is fill [containers] up and carry it out by hand," Mr. Peterson, who chairs the regional district's agricultural advisory committee, said on Tuesday, the day the Stage 4 restrictions were announced. "If you have two tomato plants or a zucchini plant, it's not a big deal … but we have a lot of five-, six- and seven-acre farmers. And even if that's all you do, all day long, there's no way you can do that by hand."

The restrictions come as the Sunshine Coast wrestles with the spectre of water shortages despite residents' efforts to conserve. Since moving to Stage 3 restrictions last month – which banned outdoor sprinkling and other outdoor water use, such as hosing driveways or washing cars – the district has cut water use by about 40 per cent, infrastructure manager Bryan Shoji said in a statement.

But unprecedented hot and dry weather is causing water supplies to deplete as time goes on, and "as these weather conditions are forecasted to continue into the fall, Stage 4 restrictions are necessary in order to extend our available water supply into the fall when the probability of rain increases," said Mr. Shoji's statement.

Water-use restrictions are set by regional districts. The Regional District of Nanaimo imposed level four restrictions last month. Metro Vancouver, meanwhile, remains under Stage 3 water restrictions, which allow hand watering of trees, shrubs and vegetable gardens.

Watering of flowers and vegetables at commercial gardens is also permitted.

Much of southwestern B.C. and all of Vancouver Island are at the highest level of drought, measured as "extremely dry," under a scale set by the province.

The Sunshine Coast water restrictions include an exemption for commercial food growers that have both farm status and water meters.

Mr. Peterson, of the district's agricultural advisory committee, lobbied for a broader exemption that would take in some producers who might not qualify as commercial food growers but produce sizable amounts of food.

Mr. Peterson said the Sunshine Coast has among the worst food security in the province, having lost sizable amounts of land to development in recent decades, and grows only about 2 per cent to 3 per cent of its own food, or enough for about 600 to 800 of its 30,000 permanent residents.

The district, however, backed a limited exemption, warning that water could run out by September.

The drought is a big worry for livestock owners. Pat Horvath, who buys and sells hay from his base on the Sunshine Coast to customers in B.C. and Alberta and parts of the United States, including Washington and Idaho, says he has never been busier and is selling about 120 tonnes of hay a week, ranging from prices of $330 to $530 a tonne depending on the quality of hay and its final destination.

Hay is available but the suppliers have changed in line with weather patterns, he said, adding that he's buying hay from northern B.C., which was hit by drought last year.

"What I think the bigger problem is for people is panic," Mr. Horvath, owner of Mason Bluff Farm, said.

"Everybody's panicking right now – they're worried about having enough this winter; we're busier than we've ever been."

Frank Roosen, of Roosendal Farms, which produces greenhouse-grown vegetables at his farm near Gibsons, will not be affected by the latest water restrictions because he has a well on his property.

In previous years, he has complained about his water supply, which is iron-rich and requires treatment to keep irrigation systems in working order. This year, he's feeling grateful.

"This is the first time I've been glad to be on a well," Mr. Roosen said.