Water users are being asked to cut consumption by 10 per cent because of the dry spring.
In the last three months the Grand River watershed has had about half of normal precipitation and April showers were only about a quarter of the normal 75mm. Some locations had as little as 10mm of rain.
In addition, the light snow pack during the winter resulted in a smaller spring melt. Many rivers and streams are already at mid-summer levels.
Water levels in the seven GRCA reservoirs normally rising at this time of year, are level or declining as water is released to maintain minimum flows in the Grand, Speed and Conestogo Rivers. That water is important to the operation of municipal water treatment and sewage treatment plants.
About 40 per cent of the flow in the Grand River at Kitchener is from the reservoirs.
Groundwater levels are in relatively good condition because of wet weather in the second half of 2011 that replenished the groundwater system. That helped maintain flows in some watercourses fed by the groundwater system, such as the Eramosa River near Guelph. But rivers that depend on runoff from rainfall are not doing as well, such as the Conestogo River in the Drayton area.
The request for water conservation comes from the Grand River Low Water Response Team which is made up of representatives of municipalities, water users, Six Nations, several provincial ministries and the GRCA.
The committee held a teleconference April 25 at which it decided to place the watershed at Level 1 under the Ontario Low Water Response Plan.
Level 1 results in a request for a voluntary 10 per cent reduction in water consumption by holders of permits to take water. There are about 750 permits in the watershed which are issued to those taking more than 50,000 litres of water a day from a river, stream or well. They include municipalities, aggregate operations, golf courses, water bottlers and farms for irrigation. Other farm uses, such as water for cattle, do not require permits.
Five other watersheds in Ontario have already moved to Level 1.
During the teleconference, representatives of water user groups reported that some farms and golf courses have already been irrigating or may start irrigating earlier this year. One municipality reported a 10 per cent increase in demand in April compared to last year.
The Low Water Response Program came into effect in 2000. Since then most large water users have introduced permanent water conservation programs that have reduced day-to-day consumption and can be stepped up during dry spells.
For example, most municipalities have outdoor water use bylaws that restrict lawn watering to alternate days or once a week. Aggregate operators recycle their wash water and golf courses have built storage ponds to capture water from the spring melt.
Homeowners can help meet the reduction targets by abiding by their local lawn watering rules, even if they have not come into effect for this year yet.
