Water Wise Summer 
Live green in your yard and garden this summer to help protect our valuable water resource and the environment. In summer months, water demand almost doubles, primarily from non-essential uses like outdoor watering. With a changing climate, longer dry spells in the summer are expected, meaning our winter water that replenishes the Sooke Lake Reservoir for use over the entire year, will need to last for longer. By conserving water outdoors, we can help make sure there is enough available to meet drinking water demand, for fire protection and to support fish and ecosystems, through the dry, hot months.
You can help with these easy tips:
Gold is the New Green
Let your lawn go golden. Lawns naturally go dormant in the summer and will bounce back to green with the fall rains. Learn more>>
Just Takes 1 Inch
If you choose to water your lawn, remember green lawns only need an inch (2.5 cm) of water per week in the driest conditions. Learn more>>
Cycle and Soak Watering
Use the cycle and soak method when watering your lawn flower or vegetable garden. Water in short cycles with a break in-between to allow water to soak into the soil. This mimics rainfall and reduces water waste. Learn more >>
Add Mulch
Mulch around your plants to save water by keeping moisture in the soil. This helps reduce evaporation, keep soil cool, reduce weeds and add nutrients to the soil. Leave leaf clippings on your lawn as mulch. Learn more >>
Water Wisely
Water in line with the designated days and times as laid out in the CRD's Stage 1 Watering Schedule. Deep, infrequent watering encourages strong root systems and healthier plants. After a day of heavy rain, consider skipping watering until the following week or install a rain shut-off device onto your irrigation system that will automatically turn your system off when it is raining.
Avoid Watering Hardscapes
Make sure your sprinkler system is watering the lawn and garden and not hard surfaces such as driveways and sidewalks. Learn more >>
Benefits of Water Conservation
- Lower water and energy bills by reducing your metered usage.
- Reduced environmental impact by deferring the need to supply water from new sources and by reducing the energy and materials required to treat and deliver water.
- Delay in building new water infrastructure that would be necessary to provide increased capacity if demand continues to rise.
- Release of reservoir water to enhance fish habitat in the Sooke River, Charters River and Goldstream River.
- Buffers against the unknown — With the effects of climate change, shorter, more intense rain events and longer, dry spells in the summer months are expected. Having as much water storage in the reservoir as possible provides the assurance that not only will there be a sufficient quantity of drinking water for the year, but provides the flexibility to deal with drought and forest fires.
- Enhanced drinking water quality by maintaining higher water levels in our primary drinking water supply, the Sooke Lake Reservoir.
The capital region enjoys some of the highest quality drinking water in the world at a reasonable cost - maintaining this critical resource requires each of us to make water wise choices each and every day.