Richmond Hill Water Restrictions 2026

Richmond Hill's Water Use Bylaw is a permanent year-round mandatory odd/even schedule — not a drought response. The rule applies every day of the year regardless of rainfall, snowpack, or watershed conditions, because York Region's water-conservation framework treats demand reduction as an ongoing operational requirement rather than a seasonal emergency. Richmond Hill (~210,000 residents) sits between Markham to the east and Vaughan to the west, and between Vaughan / Markham to the south and Aurora / Newmarket to the north along Yonge Street. The city was incorporated as a village in 1873 and grew along Yonge Street as one of the historic spines of York Region. Notable landmarks include the David Dunlap Observatory — once home to the largest optical telescope in Canada when it opened in 1935 (the site is now preserved as DDO Park) — and Lake Wilcox, the largest lake within Richmond Hill, around which the Oak Ridges community sits. Richmond Hill has a significant Persian/Iranian-Canadian community along the Yonge Street commercial corridor (notably the Persian Mall area). Other distinct neighbourhoods include Richvale, Mill Pond, Bayview Hill, and Jefferson. York Region (the upper-tier Regional Municipality) wholesales drinking water to Richmond Hill and to all eight other member municipalities. The Region buys water primarily from the City of Toronto's Lake Ontario intake at the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant and from Peel Region's Lakeview intake, supplementing with regional groundwater wells in northern member municipalities. York Region's Water for Tomorrow conservation programme has driven measurable per-capita water-use reductions and underpins the permanent year-round bylaw. The odd/even rule exists because York Region serves one of the fastest-growing populations in Canada with a finite Lake Ontario wholesale allocation. Spreading demand evenly across odd and even dates reduces peak-hour treatment-plant load and distribution pressure during the residential evening demand spike. Richmond Hill enforces the schedule through its own bylaw officers; York Region coordinates the conservation framework but does not enforce directly. If you live along Yonge Street, double-check which municipality your property is in — south of 16th Avenue / Carrville Road you are likely in Richmond Hill, but the boundaries with Vaughan (west of Yonge in some sections), Markham (east of Bayview), and Aurora (north of 19th Avenue / Stouffville Road) are not always intuitive.