Air pollution warning ends
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Updated: August 06, 2009 4:10 PM
Lower Mainland residents are breathing easier again.
An air quality advisory for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District was cancelled Sunday.
The six-day advisory was one of the longest in recent years.
Moderating temperatures have helped ease smog levels, although Metro officials say some haze may persist into the middle of the week.
They do not rule out reissuing the advisory if conditions deteriorate.
B.C.'s Air Quality Health Index – a gauge of air quality on a scale of one to 10 – peaked at around eight in parts of the Lower Mainland last Thursday, but has since subsided to the low range of three in most of the region.
For local air quality readings, see http://www.bcairquality.ca/readings/index.html.
Although last week's record high temperatures have moderated, there's still been no significant rainfall for weeks and Metro Vancouver says demand for water has soared.
A new all-time record for water consumption came last Thursday, when 2.005 billion litres of water flowed through the regional water system, passing the previous record of 2.001 billion in 1990, before lawn sprinkling limits were enacted.
The region's reservoirs are now at 78 per cent of their total storage capacity, which is still within the normal operating range.
Metro water committee chair Tim Stevenson urged residents to observe lawn sprinkling regulations and to make a conscious effort to conserve water.
He said the region doesn't expect to implement more stringent water use limits.
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