The City of Abbotsford will start enforcing a watering ban on Tuesday, after local reservoirs dropped to “dangerously low” levels this week.

Abbotsford is already in the middle of its second year of more stringent water restrictions, which allow limited sprinkling, but mayor George Peary indicated yesterday (Friday) the measures have not done enough.

A huge spike in water usage on Wednesday hammered home the “vulnerability” of the water system, said Peary.

Peary is now requesting that residents stop watering their grass altogether, before a full ban comes into effect on Tuesday.

“We got dangerously low . . . We are drawing down the reservoirs so far and setting ourselves up for a potential catastrophe,” said the mayor, pointing out most of the 30 to 40 per cent spike in water consumption on hot days is attributed to outdoor watering.

“We want to err on the side of caution and to make sure, if there’s a circumstance that requires a lot of water to save lives and properties, we will have the capacity to respond. If a fire breaks out and we don’t have the capacity in our reservoirs, it’s small compensation that people’s lawns look green.”

Up until Wednesday, the sprinkling restrictions had been working.

Even though Abbotsford’s existing supply – which also serves Mission – can technically provide 156 mega litres litres per day (MLD), city engineering staff say it struggles to handle more than 140 MLD. One mega litre equals one million litres.

In 2006, Abbotsford and Mission came within 800,000 litres of running dry. A year later, during the day on which water was at its lowest level, only 2.8 million litres were left in the tank.

Watering restrictions were introduced in 2008, and Abbotsford’s water usage peaked at 115 MLD last year.

Until Wednesday, the peak usage in 2009 was 114 MLD. On Wednesday, that leapt to 136 MLD.

The city only has to worry about peak water consumption each day, because reservoirs are replenished overnight.

As things stand, even without the sprinkling ban, Abbotsford residents are still only allowed to sprinkle their lawns from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. on certain days. The same watering restrictions apply in Mission.

Next week, city crews will hit the streets to “stringently enforce” the new rules, according to Peary.

(n) Peary said the City of Abbotsford will continue to water its 20 sand-based sports fields.

The sand-based fields drain water more effectively, which allow them to be used more in the winter. However, because they drain water better, it dries them out faster in the summer.

The city will carry on watering these fields, said Peary, otherwise he said they will be out of commission at the start of the soccer season in the fall. That being said, he explained that the fields will not be irrigated any more than absolutely necessary.

INCLUDED

IN THE WATERING BAN:

- All lawn sprinkling prohibited

- Hosing of driveways and walkways prohibited

- All non re-circulating fountains must be turned off

- Trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables can still be watered at any time by a hand-held container or hose with a shut-off

- Hoses with a shut-off can be used to fill wading pools, swimming pools, hot tubs and garden ponds

- Vehicles and boats can be watered with a hose with a shut-off at any time