Pitt Meadows 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 on residential lots in Pitt Meadows. 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. Critical: roughly 85% of Pitt Meadows is in the BC Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) — commercial blueberry, cranberry, and equestrian operations on ALR land follow separate provincial agriculture water-use rules and are not bound by the residential lawn ban.
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 Pitt Meadows Bylaw Services issues fines up to $500 per infraction under the Pitt Meadows Water Use Bylaw, applying to residential lots. ALR farms operate under separate provincial agriculture water-use rules and are not subject to the residential lawn-watering ban.
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.
Why these restrictions exist in Pitt Meadows
Pitt Meadows — the smallest city in the Metro Vancouver Stage 2 cluster, population approximately 20,000, between Maple Ridge to the east and Coquitlam across the Pitt River to the west — is bound by Metro Vancouver Stage 2 effective May 1, 2026. The defining geographic feature is that roughly 85% of the city's land area is in the BC Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), one of the highest ALR ratios of any BC municipality. Commercial blueberry farms, cranberry bogs, and equestrian properties on ALR land operate under separate provincial agriculture water-use rules — the residential lawn-watering ban does not apply to permitted commercial irrigation. Metro Vancouver went directly to Stage 2 from no-stage because provincial snowpack measured ~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. Pitt Polder, the Pitt Meadows Regional Airport, and the dyke system along the Pitt River frame the city's agricultural character.
How to keep your Pitt Meadows lawn alive
10 tips for Pitt Meadows homeowners.
If you own ALR farm land in Pitt Meadows, your commercial irrigation continues under provincial agriculture water-use rules — the residential lawn ban does not apply.
Equestrian property owners: arena dust suppression and paddock irrigation follow the agricultural framework, not the residential lawn ban — verify your specific allocation.
Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass on residential lots survive 4 to 6 weeks of dormancy without lasting damage.
Mow at 75 to 90 mm — taller blades shade the soil on the Lower Mainland's hot June afternoons.
Hand-water residential mature trees in the 5 to 9 AM window with a shut-off nozzle.
Convert flower beds to drip irrigation — drip is exempt from the morning sprinkler window.
Install a rain barrel on residential property — captured rainwater is unrestricted at all stages.
Apply 50 to 75 mm of bark mulch around shrubs and trees to retain moisture.
The Pitt Polder dyke system is operated by the dyking commission, not the City — the Stage 2 ban does not affect dyke water management.
Monitor pittmeadows.ca and metrovancouver.org weekly — Stage 3 in early June would ban automatic irrigation for trees and shrubs as well.
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