In British Columbia (BC), where drought continues, state government crisis management minister Bowin Marr urged residents to take voluntary measures to conserve water at a press conference on July 10.
Drought conditions in BC have worsened dramatically, the minister said. Currently, 17 of the state’s 34 districts have already reached level 4 of the 5 drought levels (5 being the worst). This is due to the low rainfall of the previous year.
The state government said it would continue to monitor the situation and make decisions, but similar restrictions would likely be imposed in other areas in the coming weeks.
But the state government is calling on all residents to “absolutely need” to use as little water as possible now, before official water restrictions are put into place. Examples include taking less showers, using full dishwashers and washing machines, not watering plants during hot weather, and not leaving the water running.