these are metro vancouver's best (and worst) municipalities at conserving water
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at a time when metro vancouver is facing drought conditions and a vanishing snowpack, some municipalities seem to be doing a better job than others when it comes to conserving water.
according to a metro residential water-usage report for may, the district of north vancouver recorded the highest water consumption per person each day, at 371 litres. the region’s two biggest cities fell in the middle of the pack, with vancouver at 244 litres and surrey at 266 litres. new westminster and coquitlam are both at 178 litres per person each day.
the district said in a statement that it has a larger share of single-family homes — about half the district’s total housing supply — compared with other municipalities, and those generally use more water than other housing types.
“metro vancouver’s figures reflect a snapshot from spring/early summer before stage 3 water restrictions came into effect and when outdoor use typically increases significantly,” it stated.
metro’s water-usage data for may was collected when the region was still under stage 2 water restrictions. stage 3 restrictions prohibit all residential and commercial lawn-watering, car-washing, power-washing, and the filling of pools, hot tubs and decorative fountains.
the regional authority said thursday it didn’t want to comment on why some municipalities use more water than others, noting that many factors impact water use per capita. those include land-use patterns, housing age and density, extent of metering, billing structures and other demographics like income.
“regional water restrictions are designed to drive down demand across the region, irrespective of per capita consumption estimates or any other metric,” metro said in an email.
peter ross, a senior scientist with the raincoast conservation foundation, said canada “suffers from an embarrassment of riches” when it comes to water supply.
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“we are blessed with having 25 per cent of the world’s fresh water supply,” ross said. “but the reality is that a lot of those bodies of water are vulnerable to climate change, and things are drying out in different areas in british columbia, over the last five or six years.”
water restrictions are the new normal, ross said, adding that everyone should get accustomed to them.
“we, as canadians, waste a lot of water. we use more water per capita than just about any other country in the world. having a sprinkler out to keep our grass green in july when it doesn’t rain for six weeks, i don’t think that makes a lot of sense,” he said.
kwaku agyare-manu, new west’s deputy director of engineering and public works, said water-metering has shown success in the municipality in decreasing water usage.
“by fully metering the multi-family, commercial, institutional and industrial sectors, we capture over 70 per cent of the city’s total water volume,” he said in a statement. “focusing on metered volume rather than meter count is a superior conservation metric; it allows us to monitor our largest consumers (e.g., kruger, royal columbian hospital, etc.) and proactively identify and mitigate hidden water loss (e.g., leaks).”
water-metering has shown great success across b.c. and even the country, ross said, because residents are paying for the water they use, so they have more incentive to cut down on it.
agyare-manu also acknowledged that a majority of new west residents live in multi-family homes, such as towers or townhouses, which typically result in less water use.
coquitlam is similar, with only about one-third of total dwellings being single-family, according to census data from 2021.
“coquitlam’s may 2026 consumption was also lower than may 2024 and may 2025, with metro vancouver reporting coquitlam at approximately 178 litres per person per day, compared to about 253 litres per person per day as a regional average,” stated jaime boan, the city’s general manager of engineering and public works.
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surrey has a similar housing makeup to coquitlam, with about one-third being single-family, but the municipality used more water than coquitlam in may — 266 litres per person per day.
metro’s report noted there have been “ongoing questions” about why surrey appears to be exempt from stage 3 water restrictions.
as postmedia news previously reported, surrey is the lone municipality to defy metro’s water restrictions, opting to remain in stage 2 instead of moving to stage 3. the city stated it wants to provide residents with more flexibility, since stage 3 restrictions came around much earlier this year and since it’s in the middle of the pack for water-usage across the region.
“it’s really important for the 23 members of the metro vancouver family to work together as a team to monitor water supplies and snowpack, and to plan for the short, medium and long-term, in terms of delivering the water that each of those municipalities and districts require,” ross said. “if we’re not acting as a team, one member or community might be using more than really the situation would warrant.”
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