The City of Richmond came down hard on water wasters during this summer’s record-setting heatwave — to the tune of $208,200 in fines.
After an initial soft educational approach during the Stage 1 and 2 Metro Vancouver water restrictions early in the season, the city’s patience wore thin when the region upped the ante to Stage 3 at the height of the drought conditions.
On the back of 50 written warnings, a total of 407 violation tickets at $500 each were issued, mostly in August, by city bylaw officers during Stage 3, which banned lawn sprinkling of any kind.
Earlier in the summer, eight warnings and 15 tickets at $200 each were handed out during Stage 2 (sprinkling once a week allowed) and 12 warnings and 17 tickets at $100 each during Stage 1 (three days a week, mornings only). More than 1,300 investigations were carried out during the season and the city’s hard-hitting approach during the more severe hot weather could rake in more than $200,000 in fines, depending on how many of the offenders pay up.
Richmond’s tough stance was in stark contrast to neighbouring municipalities, where there was either a dearth of complaints and offenders or a lack of enforcement.
“In Stages 1 and 2, we primarily focused on education and voluntary compliance with progressive enforcement,” stated the City of Richmond’s senior manager of corporate communications, Ted Townsend.
“Most residents received warning letters with mainly flagrant violators or repeat offenders receiving violation notices.
“When Stage 3 was implemented, we took a stricter approach, issuing tickets as a deterrence against the indiscriminate use of limited water supplies.”
Asked what kind of violations were prevalent during the height of the summer — such as automatic or timer-controlled sprinkling systems — Townsend said the city doesn’t track specific types of infractions, other than during which stage they were committed.
However, he said all fines will be pursued and all necessary measures will be taken against those who refuse to pay the penalty for flouting the water restrictions.
“If tickets are unpaid, violators will be sent to our collection agency for follow-up and/or we can go to court to seek payment,” Townsend added.
In years 2012 to 2014, the city issued just 18 violation tickets and gave only a handful of warnings.
Vancouver has issued nearly 6,000 warnings this year, but only handed out 415 tickets that carry a fine of just $250. In comparison, last year there were 767 warnings and 43 tickets in Vancouver.
West Vancouver, by contrast, was the most lenient of all in the region, issuing no tickets, despite giving out 463 oral and written warnings so far in 2015.
Metro Vancouver chair Greg Moore said the region will be reviewing what went right and wrong during the water restrictions this summer, and will look at how different municipalities enforced its bylaws when people watered their lawns when they were not allowed. He said the review will likely recommend municipalities take a more unified approach to fines and enforcement.
be consistent in what fines are levied to offenders. But, Moore, added, Metro Vancouver can’t force municipalities to do that. Several municipalities had a sliding scale of fines depending on the level of watering restriction.
*In Port Coquitlam, the seven people given tickets were repeat offenders: Two received a fine for $150 during Stage 2 and the other five were fined $300 during Stage 3.
*In Port Moody, there were 24 warnings given during Stage 3, from July 20 to September 9, and 70 tickets each carrying a fine of $200.
*In Burnaby, there were 1,250 warning letters sent out and 12 tickets issued so far in 2015. Fines in Burnaby are $150 for a Stage 1 water restriction infraction, $250 for Stage 2 and $350 for Stage 3.
*In Delta, 146 tickets were issued so far in 2015. Tickets ranged from $150 for Stage 1, $250 for Stage 2 and $350 for Stage 3. The number of warnings was not tracked.
In Port Coquitlam, where Moore is the mayor, he said summer students were hired as water ambassadors to educate the public on how they could reduce their water consumption.
Recent rain has eased the pressure on Metro Vancouver’s reservoirs, allowing the regional district to ease watering restrictions to Stage 1.
With a file from the Vancouver Sun
