Water supply in good shape in Waterloo Region despite dry weather

TheRecord.com
Aug. 8, 2016
By Johanna Weidner

Despite the surplus of heat and shortfall of rain this summer, Waterloo Region's water supply is doing fine.

"We're in good shape. Our water supply is good," Steve Gombos, the region's manager of water efficiency, said Monday.

That's thanks to most residents following the region's outdoor watering bylaw and the fact most of our drinking water comes from wells, which aren't as affected immediately by dry spells.

"Our wells, they wouldn't run dry," Gombos said.

This area does need to be mindful of the Grand River, where we get the rest of our drinking water and which is more affected by rainfall.

"Right now, the flows in the Grand River in the Kitchener area are normal," Gombos said. "That doesn't mean that people shouldn't conserve water."

All areas in the Grand River watershed are currently at Level 1 low-water status, except for Whitemans Creek and McKenzie Creek, which are at Level 2.

Level 1 is declared when flows are less than 70 per cent of their normal summer flow and/or precipitation has been less than 80 per cent of average. It reaches Level 2 when flows are at half, and precipitation is less than 60 per cent. Once flows get to less than 30 per cent normal summer levels and/or precipitation is less than 40 per cent average, it moves to Level 3.

At the first level, water users are asked to voluntarily reduce consumption by 10 per cent. At Level 2, that rises to 20 per cent. The highest alert, Level 3, asks water users to stop all non-essential consumption.

Gombos said the conservation authority's low-water response team planned a meeting Tuesday to discuss the possibility of moving to a Level 2 throughout the watershed. But he didn't expect anything would change with the region's water conservation bylaw, which prescribes what days and hours outdoor lawn watering is allowed.

"If there was any issues, then we would make an announcement," Gombos said.

In a water supply emergency, discretionary water use can be banned in the region. That hasn't been called for since the bylaw came into effect in 2003, which greatly reduced the spikes in water use that can quickly diminish water reserves.

"I think, if people just stick with the bylaw, we'll be fine," Gombos said.

Water consumption and reserves are monitored every day, and water use has been stable recently.

Bylaw officers issued 195 warnings for breaking the watering bylaw by Aug. 6, and Gombos expects that number will likely surpass the annual average of 250. Two charges have been laid.

"For the most part, the community is doing well," Gombos said. "We find, as the summer gets into August, people aren't as concerned about watering their lawns."

Lawn watering is not allowed in Guelph as the hot, dry weather persists.

"Guelph is more reliant on surface water," Gombos said.

Environment Canada is forecasting a chance of rain for the region Friday and through the weekend. And it's needed.

July was the third month in a row with below-average precipitation, according to data from the University of Waterloo weather station.

Much of July's rain came in the last week, accounting for nearly 40 millimetres of the total 70.

However, like the most of the storms this summer, most of the rain fell in short bursts lasting less than an hour - with much of it probably running off without having time to soak into the ground.

Total precipitation for the year is now falling below the average for this time of year, 385 millimetres of the average 509.

It's also been hot. By the end of July, we've had 22 days above 30 C, compared to the average of eight during a typical year. July was more than 1 1/2 degrees above average.