As unseasonably dry weather mantled B.C.’s southern coast last fall, Sunshine Coast residents were bedeviled by a new climate change reality: a ban on outdoor water use.

If they turned on a tap to sprinkle their geraniums or sluice a dusty car the penalty was a $400 fine. Gardens withered, while spray irrigation ceased on farmland and the local hockey rink sat iceless.

For the second time in three years, the community had entered Stage 4 water restrictions.

“We didn’t have sufficient water for normal domestic use and we were drawing down the lake with no end in sight,” recalled Sechelt mayor Bruce Milne. “It was quite traumatic for the community and residents. The elderly were especially finding it hard to cope.”

Water shortages around the world are becoming commonplace as the planet warms and climate patterns shift.

Cape Town is perilously close to Day Zero, when taps will run dry in the parched South African city of almost four million. Close to home, the seaside town of Tofino made headlines in 2015 when a drought depleted water supplies and the Vancouver Island community faced an economic shutdown.

But the water crisis on the Sunshine Coast near Vancouver appears to be the first time that a B.C. community in close proximity to a major urban centre has grappled with the impacts of climate change on a once abundant water supply.

“Climate change is the real driver here,” Milne told The Narwhal.

“There’s no rain coming in July and August. We used to be able to count on rain in mid-October. It’s not always there now. These shifts in weather patterns are a real factor in making it a crisis.”

Markus Schnorbus, the hydrologic impacts lead for the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, said the type of weather patterns Milne describes will become more frequent on B.C.’s coast as the planet warms.

“The type of year that he is describing is the type of year that we would expect climate change to result in,” Schnorbus said.

“It’s not so much an issue that overall there’s less water. It’s just that more of it is occurring in the wintertime and less of it in the summertime because you’re losing that natural storage.”

Climate change-fuelled water shortage threatens Tetrahedron Provincial Park

The water conundrum has sparked a divisive debate on the Sunshine Coast. Hundreds of people flocked to two community meetings this month to discuss a contentious proposal to pipe new water supplies from Chapman Lake in Tetrahedron Provincial Park, a 6,000-hectare wilderness area that protects the headwaters of the salmon-bearing Chapman and Grey creeks.

At issue are two recommendations from the Sunshine Coast regional district board: to remove 130 hectares from the park or strip the entire park of Class A status in order to convert the lake into a large water reservoir.

It might sound like an easy fix for seasonal water woes, but Milne and others warn that gutting or declassifying the park would deprive the Sunshine Coast of a “rare” protected area — one dotted with old-growth hemlock, fir and cedar forests that provide habitat for endangered species such as the marbled murrelet —  and set a dangerous precedent for incursions into other protected areas in B.C.

“It’s too bad it’s become politicized, because it’s almost a technical issue,” Milne said.

“But it’s political because people have very strong values about parks and about ecological values. And others have very strong values about the need for domestic water, and fear of a drought.”

Neither one of the district’s recommendations considers viable alternatives for dealing with the water crisis, said Milne, who chairs the regional district board and represents the Sunshine Coast community that is the largest water user.

Last month, Milne wrote a letter to B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman saying the preferred public option is “none of the above” park incursions.

The environment ministry, which must approve any changes to the park’s status, is leading the public consultations, which are taking place several years after the regional district board first made the recommendations following the 2015 drought.

The regional district board is evenly split on the issue, and a motion Milne made in March to abandon the proposed Chapman Lake “expansion project” was defeated.

‘Band-aid’ solution doesn’t solve real problem of water shortage

Barry Janyk, the former mayor of Gibsons and executive director of the Federation of Mountain Clubs of B.C., is among those opposed to tampering with Tetrahedron Park.

“The regional district has not explored all the options,” Janyk told The Narwhal. “They’re looking at Chapman Lake as being the quick and dirty fix. It’s a simple band-aid. It does not solve the problem.”

Tetrahedron Provincial Park, established in the 1990s, is the largest protected area on the Sunshine Coast.  Only three per cent of Crown land is protected on the Sunshine Coast, compared to about 15 per cent province wide.

Chapman Lake lies near the heart of the park, which includes wetlands, lakes and streams. The lake feeds Chapman Creek, home to Chinook, coho and pink salmon.

It also provides most of the Sunshine Coast’s current water supply, thanks to a small dam on the lake that was installed in the 1970s, decades before the area was protected, which raises the water level by up to three metres.

When drought hit in 2017, an emergency above ground siphon system was used to draw down Chapman Lake temporarily to increase supply and, according to Milne, it “worked like a charm.”

But now a permanent, additional five-metre draw down of the lake is proposed. Underground pipes would be installed, along with a computerized valve that could be activated from offices in downtown Sechelt.

“From an engineering point of view, it’s a cleaner and more permanent solution,” Milne said. “The people who are arguing for that think that a $5 million price tag for a backup supply is a reasonable price to pay.”

Proposal would remove Chapman Lake from park

But the project can only legally proceed if the Chapman Lake watershed is removed from the park, or the entire wilderness area is stripped of park status.

Instead of interfering with the park, Milne and Janyk believe that other solutions —such as water metering, construction of a permanent water reservoir and tapping into aquifers — can meet demand even as the Sunshine Coast population swells and new neighbourhoods clamber up previously forested slopes.

“The regional district has been going full tilt boogie on supporting development without a sufficient water supply,” said Janyk. “And now they expect a provincial park to pay the price.”

Milne said water metering and other measures can address demand even with increased development.

Part of the problem is that lifestyles have changed over the decades and the Sunshine Coast has become more urbanized, he said.

“When we moved here in 1986 people didn’t have nice gardens and fancy green lawns. People are simply using a lot more water in July and August.”

Water metering needed to curb demand

Deborah Curran, a University of Victoria law professor who specializes in water law, said it is not just Sunshine Coast residents who need to alter their expectations when it comes to water use, but everyone in the province.

People need to accept the fact that watering lawns during a summer or fall drought is no longer feasible in light of the “new normal” of climate change, Curran told The Narwhal.

“If you truly account for the ecological and infrastructure costs of delivering water so people can have a green lawn it no longer makes economic sense.”

Curran said ecological infrastructure such as Tetrahedron park should not be compromised in order to deal with water shortages or other crises caused by climate change.

“We cannot weaken our parkland, weaken our protected areas, in response to water shortages that can be taken care of with long-term planning,” she said. “To pit one public good against another, in particular when we have so little in the way of ecological protections, is really not the right approach. “

One effective way to deal with water shortages is to introduce water metering, said Curran. Studies show that metering results in an immediate 25 per cent drop in demand, she said.

When the town of Gibsons recently introduced water metering, demand fell by 50 per cent, pointed out Janyk, who was the town’s mayor for 12 years.

Milne said metering saves significant amounts of water by detecting leaks. A pilot metering project in Sechelt found “a tremendous amount of treated water flowing out of old and leaky pipes,” he said, adding that Sechelt will move to full water metering once borrowing for the project is approved.

Long-term ‘water-centric’ planning required: expert

Curran said water shortages like the one on the Sunshine Coast require “more complex” solutions than the “either, or” options about Tetrahedron park presented to the B.C. environment ministry. Water needs to be addressed in a much more holistic way than simply looking to the nearest source in a pinch, she said.

“We are now in an era where we need to have 100-year plans not just for our drinking water but the way in which we use water as a community.”

The 2016 Water Sustainability Act gives B.C. the ability to engage in necessary long-term “water-centric” planning and decision-making, Curran pointed out.

Implementing water sustainability plans would mean that all decision-makers, from foresters to official community planners, would have to consider impacts on water, allowing for a healthy, watershed-based approach, she said.

“What’s going on in the entire watershed is often not taken into account. We cannot sacrifice other public goods when we have these immediate crises.”

In 2016, the summer was cooler, the fall rains came earlier and the Sunshine Coast only reached Stage 2 water restrictions. Washing windows, driveways and sidewalks was prohibited, while garden watering was only allowed on certain days.

This year, however, an above-normal snowpack is melting rapidly in warm May temperatures.

“It’s depleting very quickly,” Milne said. “That means it won’t be there in late August.”

The B.C. environment ministry pointed out that the 1997 Tetrahedron park management plan allows for the ongoing use of the watershed for domestic water, in the context of future population needs.

BC Parks will not support any option that would see a reduction in the overall area under protection, the ministry said in an email to The Narwhal.

“Unfortunately there is an impression in the public that there are only limited options to be considered when in fact the intent of the consultation is to solicit input on all possible options,” the ministry said. “Feedback from the consultation will provide a clearer indication of the best options moving forward.”

BC parks will ensure that conditions on any permits that might be issued “restrict the use of any additional capacity to emergency use during droughts and that other out of park solutions are developed to reduce future dependence on Chapman Lake water,” the ministry said.

The public consultation process initiated by BC Parks concludes June 8.

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Nothing is better than splashing around in the water on a hot summer day, but B.C. residents should be questioning whether that refreshing dip is going to make them sick, says Lauren Hornor, executive director of Fraser Riverkeeper, a non-profit organization working to ensure B.C. waters are safe for swimming, drinking and fishing.

This week, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority issued a “no swimming” advisory for three West Vancouver beaches due to high levels of E.coli, which can increase risk of gastro-intestinal illness.

“Due to high levels of bacteria in the water swimming is not recommended at Ambleside, Dundarave and Sandy Cove beaches,” the health authority said.

While some B.C. health authorities immediately post fecal coliform bacteria levels online after receiving test results for beaches, others either do not receive regular information or do not make those figures public unless levels are dangerously high, Hornor said.

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That means people do not know pollution levels at some of the region’s most popular beaches, including White Rock, Cultus Lake, Crescent Beach, Alice Lake Park Beach in Squamish and Camp Jubilee on Indian Arm, Hornor said.

“Those are the top five beaches that are very well used, but not tested or the information is not publicly available,” she said.

Test results often not made public

The main offenders, according to Fraser Riverkeeper, are Fraser Health Authority, which receives test results from Metro Vancouver, but does not make results publicly available online, and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which meticulously reports on Vancouver beaches, but has not yet posted any water quality data for Garibaldi, Squamish or the Sunshine Coast.

Interior Health Authority and Vancouver Island Health Authority post only safe or unsafe notifications, instead of coliform bacteria counts, and Fraser Riverkeeper is working to obtain more specific numbers.

All available results are included in Swim Guide, a free app developed by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, which gives information and pollution counts for beaches across Canada, the U.S. and, this year, parts of Mexico.

Swim Guide marks beaches with red, yellow or green indicators, but beaches falling under Fraser Valley Health or in the Garibaldi/Sunshine Coast areas have grey markers showing no water quality information is available.

Lack of information means health risks, said Hornor, who has two young children and worries about their beach safety.

E.coli and sewage make people sick

Fraser Riverkeeper is part of Mountain Equipment Co-op's Homewaters campaign this summer and is encouraging British Columbians to call on local health authorities to provide reliable, consistent water quality information.

“When there’s E.coli and sewage or feces, whether from humans or animals, it causes all sorts of problems,” Hornor said said.

Effects can range from inflamed eyes and itchy skin to serious gastro-intestinal illness, with children and seniors most susceptible to infection. Harmful pathogens can enter the body through cuts or openings such as the mouth, ears and nose, meaning that even splashing around at the edge of the water can be a problem.

Hornor, an environmental lawyer, said two years of letters and phone calls to Fraser Health Authority have not produced an adequate response and frustrated members of Fraser Riverkeeper are preparing to submit a freedom-of-information request.

However, Gordon Stewart, the health authority’s health protection manager, said changes are on the way and numbers should be posted by late summer.

“We want to get it cracked this year. We are doing minor tweaks to the website,” he said. “We are making sure that, when we post stuff, it’s accurate and people are not confused by it.”

Beach testing is done by Metro Vancouver, which supplies results to the health authorities, and, if a beach is unsafe, warning signs are immediately posted, Stewart said.

In those cases, beaches are not closed for swimming, unless there is an event such as an oil spill, but swimmers are advised they have increased risks of gastro-intestinal illness.

Technical problems prevent test results from being posted

Vancouver Coastal Health Authority told Fraser Riverkeeper that most beaches in the Garibaldi and Sunshine Coast areas have “good to excellent historic water quality” and, with lower population levels, risks are smaller, but there are plans for more testing to ensure water quality has not deteriorated.

Vancouver Coastal spokeswoman Anna Marie D’Angelo said in an e-mailed response to questions from DeSmog Canada that Coast Garibaldi sampling is done by provincial parks staff or private camp operators who submit samples to the provincial laboratory.

Usually results would be posted on the website, but there have been some hitches, D’Angelo said.

“Unfortunately, the website is not capturing 2014 data as we’re experiencing some problems with the provincial lab and our web host in getting the 2014 results posted,” she said. “We’re working on resolving this. We are still receiving the results, they are just not making it to the website.”

What level of risk is acceptable?

In addition to obtaining information about pollution levels, swimmers then need to decide what level of fecal coliform bacteria they consider acceptable.

Health Canada and B.C. consider anything above 200 coliform units in 100 millilitres of water to be unsafe, but Fraser Riverkeeper follows the Ontario guideline in deeming more than 100 coliform units per 100 millilitres of water to be unacceptable.

Health Canada estimates that, using its guidelines, one or two per cent of swimmers will become ill from contamination. That means about 100,000 Canadians a year get sick from swimming in polluted waters.

A yuck factor that may make swimmers think twice about a relaxing dip in the water is that Metro Vancouver discharges more than 30 billion litres of untreated waste water annually into the Fraser River and Strait of Georgia from old combined sewage outfall pipes. When it rains heavily, sewage often bypasses treatment and heads straight into the river or ocean.

Vancouver, New Westminster and Burnaby are in the process of separating storm drains and sanitary sewers to prevent raw sewage spilling into the river and ocean during heavy rainfalls, but it will be about 30 years before work is completed.

However, some swimmers will not be deterred, said Hornor, noting that there are die-hards who insist in swimming in False Creek, despite warnings that even boaters should avoid prolonged skin contact with the water.

This story was made possible through support from Mountain Equipment Co-op as part of its Homewaters campaign, which is dedicated to preserving Canada’s fresh water from coast to coast.

Photo: Carlos Mejia Greene via Flickr

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.