Guelph remains locked into a Level 2 Red water-use designation, with prohibitions on lawn watering and at-home vehicle washing, and restrictions on when things like decorative gardens can be watered.
Guelph and area – in fact all communities within the Grand River watershed – are parched, as temperatures surpass 30C on a daily basis and the skies bear no rain.
The city announced Thursday that the designation will hold following an overall Level 2 designation was released by the Grand River Low Water Response Team on Wednesday. The reasons behind the restrictions are straight forward – a lack of rain, low river levels, and high water use.
Guelph first moved to a Level 2 in July, and Emily Stahl, supervisor of water efficiency for the city said in a release that it would take about a month of rain to get back to a Level 1 Yellow designation.
“Everyone has a role to play in conserving and protecting Guelph’s water supply and our residents are doing a fantastic job through this dry summer,” Stahl stated, adding the city is grateful for residents’ compliance.
The Low Water Response Team said the hot, dry weather calls for stronger water conservation measures throughout the entire watershed. Level 2 previous applied only to select areas. A watershed-wide Level 2 was last declared in 2012, a drought year.
As a result, water users throughout the watershed, whether connected to municipal or private water supplies, are asked to voluntarily reduce consumption by 20 per cent, and eliminate non-essential water use. The limited supply of water is needed for essentials like human health, agriculture and ecology. Parts of the watershed are well below average precipitation levels, and further reductions in river flows could result if conditions prevail.
A full 75 per cent of the river flow through Guelph is due to discharge – or augmentation – from reservoirs. That number is 95 per cent through Kitchener, and 50 per cent through Brantford. The discharge is necessary to ensure the proper operation of municipal drinking water and sewage treatment plants, according to the Low Water Response Team release.
There is rain in the forecast later this week, but it could only have a limited impact on the levels in the system. Conservation measures are expected to remain in place for the duration of the summer.
Learn more about Level 2 water restrictions here http://guelph.ca/living/environment/water/water-conservation/outside-water-use/.
