The province is calling for voluntary water use reductions of 20 per cent or more from all municipal, agricultural and industrial users on the Sunshine Coast.
On Tuesday, the Coast was declared a Level 3 drought area, along with Sea to Sky, Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley and Canyon.
“Staff with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations anticipate that these regions could experience significant water supply shortages in 2015,” the province said in an information bulletin.
“Ministry staff are closely monitoring river levels and may upgrade the drought level if the weather continues to have a negative effect on stream flows and water supply.”
As of Wednesday, Stage 2 outdoor water use restrictions were in effect for the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) water system, except for customers on SCRD water from Pender Harbour to Earls Cove/Egmont, which remain at Stage 1.
