New Westminster Water Restrictions 2026
Published: May 5, 2026
Metro Vancouver Regional District · British Columbia
Restrictions Active - Stage 2 — All Lawn Watering Banned
0
Lawn Days/Week
Lawn: Prohibited every day
Allowed Hours
Up to $500 per infraction
Fine
What is banned
Stage 2 prohibits all lawn watering in New Westminster, including strata common-property lawns and townhouse-complex landscapes. Trees, shrubs, perennials, and flower beds may be watered any day from 5:00 AM to 9:00 AM with a sprinkler, or any time with a hand-held hose fitted with an automatic shut-off nozzle, or by drip irrigation. Vegetable gardens may be watered any time, including Pier Park-area community gardens.
What is still allowed
💧 Hand watering
Trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetable gardens — any time with a hand-held hose fitted with an automatic shut-off nozzle.
🌿 Drip irrigation & soaker hoses
Permitted any time. Drip is exempt from sprinkler hour windows.
🥬 Vegetable gardens
Watering vegetable gardens by hand or drip is permitted at any time, even during the strictest stages.
🪣 Rain barrels
Rainwater collected on your own property is unrestricted and may be used at any time for any purpose.
Fines & enforcement
Up to $500 per infraction
City of New Westminster Bylaw Services issues fines up to $500 per infraction under the Water Shortage Response Bylaw. There is no warning period under Stage 2. In the largely strata-housed Royal City, much of enforcement focuses on multi-unit residential complexes, commercial sites, and contracted landscape companies running automatic systems on outdated programmes.
Effective: May 1, 2026🏠 Strata rules
BC strata corporations cannot fine residents or owners for brown or dormant lawns during active regional water restrictions. A strata bylaw requiring lawn watering in conflict with Metro Vancouver Stage 2 is unenforceable under the BC Strata Property Act. Strata managers in New Westminster should reset automatic common-property irrigation systems to comply with Stage 2 — the corporation, not the individual owner, is liable for landscape company violations.
Why these restrictions exist in New Westminster
New Westminster — "The Royal City" and the first European-settled municipality in mainland BC, capital of the Colony of British Columbia from 1858 to 1866, population approximately 80,000 — is bound by Metro Vancouver Stage 2 effective May 1, 2026. Most New Westminster housing stock is townhouse and condominium with limited individual lawn area; enforcement focuses heavily on multi-unit residential, commercial, and institutional sites where automatic irrigation systems are most likely to run on stale programming. Metro Vancouver skipped Stage 1 entirely because provincial snowpack measured roughly 50% of normal at peak and the First Narrows Crossing supply main has been offline since fall 2025 for the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel project. Capilano and Seymour reservoirs entered May at 65 to 70% of seasonal target. New Westminster sits on the north bank of the Fraser River, surrounded by Burnaby (north and east), Coquitlam (east), and Surrey across the river to the south.
How to keep your New Westminster lawn alive
10 tips for New Westminster homeowners.
Most New West residents live in stratas — the strata corporation, not individual owners, is responsible for resetting common-property irrigation timers.
Pier Park, Westminster Pier, Queen's Park, and Fraser River Discovery Centre landscapes are City-owned and follow the Stage 2 rules; landscape staff manage to the schedule.
Cool-season grasses (Tall Fescue, Fine Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass) common in older townhouse complexes survive 4 to 6 weeks of dormancy.
Mow at 75 to 90 mm if you do have a lawn — taller blades shade the soil and reduce evapotranspiration.
Condo balcony container gardens may be watered any time — drip irrigation and watering cans are exempt from the day-of-week schedule.
Convert ornamental flower beds to drip irrigation — drip is exempt from the morning sprinkler window.
If you rent, your landlord (or the strata) is responsible for irrigation compliance — but tenants should still reset any controllers under their direct control.
Install a rain barrel where balcony space allows — captured rainwater is unrestricted at all stages.
Heritage landscapes at Queen's Park follow the same Stage 2 rules as everyone else — no exemption for heritage properties.
Monitor newwestcity.ca and metrovancouver.org weekly — Stage 3 in early June would ban automatic irrigation for trees and shrubs as well.
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