Outdoor Water Use: Know Your Colour, Know Your Limits

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Did you know that in the summer months water consumption can double? This is largely due to the increase in outdoor water use from activities such as lawn watering and car washing.  In order to ensure a reliable and continuous supply of water for essential and emergency needs like firefighting, I want to remind residents about Halton’s outdoor water use program designed to quickly communicate any outdoor water use restrictions.

The program consists of a numeric and colour coded system that establishes three levels of outdoor water use depending on criteria such as water demand, reservoir and aquifer (groundwater) levels and weather patterns.  The water restriction levels include:

  • Halton Water Restriction Level 1 - BlueLevel 1 (Blue) – Careful Use. Voluntary odd/even lawn watering between 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock in the morning and evening on days that correspond with your house number (if you have an odd numbered house, water on odd numbered calendar days and similarly for even numbered addresses). Car washing and watering of trees, shrubs and gardens is allowed on those days.
  • Water Restriction Level 2 - YellowLevel 2 (Yellow) – Limited Use. Mandatory odd/even lawn watering between 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock in the morning and evening on days that correspond with your house number. Watering of trees, shrubs and gardens should be done using a hand held device such as a watering can.
  • Level 3 (Red) – Stop Use. No outdoor lawn watering or car Water Restriction Level 3 - Redwashing is permitted in order to conserve water for emergency and essential services. Watering of trees, shrubs and gardens can be done using a hand held device following the odd/even watering rule.

As the warmer weather is now upon us and homeowners are in the middle of lawn and gardening season, it is very important to learn about the water restriction levels in order to reduce your consumption this summer when required.

The following simple measures can also help to reduce your outdoor water use:

  • Only water your lawns and gardens between 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock in the morning and evening on odd or even days that correspond with your house number.
  • Don’t wash your driveway with a hose. Use a rake or broom instead.
  • If you own an automatic irrigation system, install moisture sensors or a central controller to avoid lawn watering during rainfall.
  • Use drought tolerant plants and place mulch around them to lock in moisture.
  • Know how to turn off your automatic irrigation system in the event of any outdoor water use restrictions.
  • Use a rain barrel to capture rain water to water your plants and garden.

For more information dial 311 or visit the following pages:

If you have any Regional concerns or comments you would like to share, please feel free to email me at gary.carr@halton.ca. To receive further updates on Regional issues, please subscribe to my quarterly e-newsletter, “The Carr Report.”