Starting September 1, Metro Vancouver residents and businesses will be allowed to water their lawns one morning per week until October 15. Designated lawn watering days are determined by your property address and type.
Stage 1 water restrictions in effect
Residential
Lawns
-
Residential lawn watering allowed:
Even-numbered addresses: Saturdays
Odd-numbered addresses: Sundays
Automatic watering: 5:00 am – 7:00 am
Manual watering: 6:00 am – 9:00 am
-
New lawns, lawns treated for chafer beetle: Watering outside restricted times requires a municipal permit
Trees, shrubs, flowers
-
Water any day, any time using a water container, soaker hose, drip irrigation, or hose with spring-loaded nozzle
-
By sprinkler: any day 5:00 am to 9:00 am
Vegetable gardens
-
Can be watered at any time
Decorative water features (fountains, ponds)
-
Topping up or filling — allowed
Vehicles and boats
-
At home — washing allowed with spring-loaded hose nozzle
-
Commercial car washes — allowed
Surfaces
-
Pressure washer and garden hoses — allowed
-
Hired commercial cleaner — all types of cleaning activities allowed
-
Personal — no impact
-
Public — no impact
-
Spray parks — no impact
Non-residential
Lawns
-
Residential lawn watering allowed:
Even-numbered addresses: Monday
Odd-numbered addresses: Tuesday
Automatic watering: 4:00 am – 6:00 am
Manual watering: 6:00 am – 9:00 am
-
New lawns, lawns treated for chafer beetle: Watering outside restricted times requires a municipal permit
Trees, shrubs, flowers
-
Water any day, any time using a water container, soaker hose, drip irrigation, or hose with spring-loaded nozzle
-
By sprinkler: any day 4:00 am to 9:00 am
Vegetable gardens
-
Can be watered at any time
Decorative water features (fountains, ponds)
-
Topping up or filling — allowed
Vehicles and boats
-
Washing allowed
-
Commercial car washes — allowed
Surfaces
-
Pressure washer and garden hoses — allowed
-
Hired commercial cleaner — all types of cleaning activities allowed
These restrictions do not apply to the use of rainwater, gray water, any forms of recycled water, or other sources of water outside the GVWD/municipal water supply system.
Frequently asked questions
About regional drinking water conservation
Metro Vancouver stores, treats, and delivers drinking water through its member jurisdictions to more than 3 million people in the region. Water conservation is a major part of Metro Vancouver's planning to support the sustainable use of water resources.
Helping residents, businesses, schools, and member jurisdictions use only the water they need helps support an efficient and relatively cost-effective water system. Find out more about Metro Vancouver's
Drinking Water Conservation Plan.