B.C. eyes water conservation legislation

The B.C. government is considering ways to revise the 100-year-old provincial Water Act to prompt consumers to reduce growing water consumption, Environment Minister Barry Penner says.

"We tend to think in British Columbia we have unlimited amounts because it does rain heavily at times," Penner said Wednesday. "But the fact is we are increasingly seeing water shortages in different parts of the province, and with a growing population we can expect that there are going to be continued demands for water."

A Royal Bank of Canada study released Wednesday called the "RBC Blue Water Project" suggests Canadians tend to dramatically underestimate the amount of water they use.

On average, Canadians who were surveyed thought they used about 80 litres of water each day. According to the study, the average daily consumption in Canada is 329 litres per person.

Metro Vancouver has introduced summer lawn-watering restrictions to try to save water and change attitudes.

"By doing that, we basically make sure that our water system isn't stressed in terms of capacity," said Stan Woods, Metro Vancouver's senior utility planning engineer.

Dual water system considered

Figures from 2007 show per capita water consumption in Vancouver at 542 litres a day, down from 728 litres in 1986.

"We've seen a decline in average water use, both on peak day, average day, summer usage, and winter usage," Woods said.

Penner said possible changes to the B.C. Water Act could include more widespread metering, because many municipalities don't meter individual users but charge a flat annual rate for water.

Another consideration is a dual water system such as one now used in Australia.

"They have two different colours of pipes, which indicates whether it's fully treated water or if it's something you can use for like watering your lawn or washing your car," Penner said.