A little bit of rain across the region on Wednesday, August 13, and a further forecast for some on the weekend has not dampened the drought situation.
Low water advisories remain in effect across Eastern Ontario, and that has led municipalities to restrict water use and request residents and businesses to conserve water use.
The low precipitation over the past few weeks has contributed to a reduction in the flow of watercourses in the South Nation River watershed. Several upstream tributaries are completely dried up. South Nation Conservation has issued a Level 2 or moderate low water advisory which means minor supply issues have been observed. Under this Low Water Advisory, all water users are being requested to reduce non-essential water use by 20 per cent.
The Township of Champlain, and the Township of Alfred and Plantagenet, are also urging residents to reduce water use by 20 per cent due to the low water advisory.
Water levels in Hawkesbury Creek have been observed as extremely low around the area of Bon Pasteur Street.
The Municipality of Casselman, which uses the South Nation River as its source of water, has issued a complete ban on outdoor water use until further notice. Gardens may only be watered with hand-held watering cans. The community’s splash park is temporarily closed.
The Raisin Region Conservation Authority (RRCA) has issued a Level 1 Low Water notice for its watershed jurisdiction and is asking local water users to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by 10 percent. A Level 1 condition is the first indication of a potential water supply issue and can be declared if precipitation during a three-month period falls below 80 percent of average or if flows are less than 70 percent of their normal summer low flow. As of August 10, the three-month precipitation was at 72 percent of average.
In Québec, a complete ban on outdoor water use is in effect for properties connected to the municipal water systems in Brownsburg-Chatham.
In Grenville, outdoor water use is permitted for properties with even-numbered addresses on even-numbered dates, and for odd-numbered addresses with odd-numbered dates. Outdoor water use is only permitted between 7 pm and 10 pm for a maximum of one hour. No outdoor water use is permitted at all on weekends.
