Drinking Water Conservation Plan

Metro Vancouver’s Drinking Water Conservation Plan (DWCP) is a regional policy developed with local governments and other stakeholders to manage the use of drinking water during periods of high demand, mostly during late spring to early fall, and during periods of water shortages and emergencies. The DWCP helps ensure our collective needs for drinking water are met affordably and sustainably now, and in the future.

The DWCP applies only to member jurisdictions of the Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD) that are supplied drinking water from Metro Vancouver’s drinking water system. Jurisdictions that are not members of the GVWD are also encouraged to follow restrictions in the plan to help conserve drinking water and demonstrate leadership and consistency to water users across the region. The DWCP restrictions do not apply to the use of rain water, grey water, any forms of recycled water, or water from sources outside the GVWD water system.

The DWCP is managed through four levels of water restriction stages. Each stage of the DWCP is designed to reduce demand for drinking water through specific water restrictions which become more restrictive with higher stages. In most cases, the stages of the plan will be activated in successive order, but the stages​​​​ can also be activated immediately in any order.

A summarized list of water restrictions for homes, businesses, governments and schools for Stages 1 to 4 is available in the Drinking Water Conservation Plan Summary document.