Drought danger grows as some parts of B.C. see no rain for almost 5 weeks

While some parts of British Columbia could see a raindrop or two this week the warm temperatures and sunny skies dominating the forecast for most of the province do not bode well for flora and fauna already fighting drought conditions.

According to the province's Drought and Water Scarcity Response Plan, which was last updated in May, drought conditions are classified on a scale of one to five.

TheKettle River and Salmon River basins in the Interior are currently hovering at Level 4, as is east Vancouver Island.

At Level 4, conditions are extremely dry, water restrictions are likely in effect and adverse effects onecosystems are possible.

While temperatures cooled over the South Coast over the weekend, and some people in the region saw scatteredshowers, CBCmeteorologist Johanna Wagstaffesaidthe Environment Canada weather station atthe Vancouver International Airport did not measure any precipitation during those two days makingit 33 days without rain on the runway.

Central and northern B.C. residents can expect somerain Monday, but Wagstaffesaysanother week of sunshine and above seasonal temperatures are forecast for the southern part of the province and the next chance of showers for Metro Vancouver mightnot be until July 27.

Tinder-like conditions have contributed to out-of-control wildfires in the Interior and water restrictions in coastal island communities.

Danger to ecosystems

If drought conditions continue, there will be other prices to pay for B.C. ecosystems, ecologist John Richardson says.

"Alot of the small streams will start to basically dry up at the surface. Further downstream, the bigger streams will recede to these little isolated pools where any fish or amphibians or invertebrates will get basically trapped and very vulnerable to predators," said Richardson, speaking Monday on CBC's The Early Edition.

Those smallbodies of watercould then get so hot they become inhospitable to survive in, said Richardson, a professor of aquatic and riparian-area ecology at the University of British Columbia.

Hesaid coastal B.C. is particularly at risk of drought because of the area'sshallow soil, due to the factthat the area was covered by glaciers about 15,000 years ago.

"That means there isn't a great amount of storage of water below the surface, so the soils will be drying out [and]the trees will be stressed trying to tap out that last little bit of water," said Richardson.

Conserving water

Officials are asking people and businesses to conserve water in all areas affected by drought.

This includes abiding by water bylaws that limit outdoor watering, but also taking shorter showers and not leaving taps running.

In future years, storing water on site could be a huge help for British Columbians who otherwise depend on well water, like residents of theGulf Islands.

Rainwater harvesting and filtration systems could play a key part in this, saysGord Baird with the Capital Regional District (CRD)RegionalWater Supply Commission, who designs andinstalls the systems on southern Vancouver Islandthrough his company Eco-Sense.

They workby using a large surface area usually the roof of a home to collect water, rather than letting it run off. The water is redirected instead into barrels or cisterns so it can be stored for future use.

"It really depends on the area, but generally we can collect what we need to meet our needsfor the year," said Baird, speaking to CBC's On The Island.

According to Baird, the CRD estimates every person in the district uses about 272 litres of water daily around 100,000 litres a year and the average household has the potential to collect about 45,000 to 95,000 litres annually.

Richardson says planning now for the future is critical, especially as climate change speeds up the melting of glaciers and annual snowpacks that supply water to delicate ecosystems and hydroelectric projects.

"Wereally need to be thinking about long-term water supplies," said Richardson.

You can see the current drought levels in B.C. at anytime by visiting theprovincial drought information portal.