Whether tap or hose, it’s all drinking water. Save treated drinking water for where it is needed most: drinking, cooking, and cleaning
Water use changes with the seasons
With all the rainfall in Metro Vancouver, conserving water might not be top of mind, but it matters more than you may think.
Winter and spring may be wet but fall and summer are dry – and that’s when we use water the most. About 60 per cent of our water use is outdoors, and in the hot, dry summer months our daily water use can increase by 50 per cent due to lawn watering and increased outdoor use, like washing cars.
Metro Vancouverites use about 270 litres of drinking water per person per day. When you factor in commercial uses, such as running local businesses, institutions, and public facilities, the average use is about 450 litres per person per day.
The average amount of water used daily in Metro Vancouver is 1 billion litres — enough to fill BC Place. During the hot, dry summer, our water use increases to more than 1.5 billion litres per day, mainly due to outdoor use.
By keeping conservation in mind year-round, we can continue to meet demand in any season. Get simple tips to use less water around the home.
Managing water for future generations
As more people move to the region, using less water can help delay the need to build costly new infrastructure.
We must also prepare for changes to rainfall and snowpack due to climate change. In Metro Vancouver, warmer annual temperatures and longer dry spells, combined with reductions in snowpack and earlier spring melt, could put a strain on the existing water supply during times of the year when water is in greatest demand.
Our drinking water is a valuable resource, essential to our lives and our natural environment. And together, we can use it wisely to ensure we meet our needs and those of future generations.