Metro Vancouver’s Water Supply for This Summer

As you know, Metro Vancouver is in stage 2 water restrictions, which means you cannot water lawns, top up or fill decorative water features (such as a fountain), or use your personal pressure washer or garden hose to wash impermeable surfaces, such as a concrete patio. The current lawn water restriction does not apply to municipal public spaces, such as sports fields. This is to ensure the water supply lasts throughout this summer.

According to the Regional District, there are a few reasons for these year's restrictions. One is that snowpack is at 44% of its historic average as of the beginning of this month. The second is that the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel project means one of the main water supply connections will be out of service this summer. The third is that Environment Canada is predicting a hot, dry summer.

Graph of Capilano Watershed, Average Snow Water Equivalent. Select to enlarge.

The good news is that water reservoirs and the alpine lakes, Palisade, Burwell, and Loch Lomond, will be full by the end of spring.

With a hot summer predicted, the region will likely enter stage 3 restriction sometime in early June.

For more information on water restriction stages and impacts, please visit Metro Vancouver’s website.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Memorial and March

Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people are at a significantly higher risk of becoming a victim of violent crime than other people in Canada. In Canada, thousands of Indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing over the years. In BC, this violence includes the horrific Pickton farm murders and Highway of Tears, which is the Highway 16 corridor between Prince George and Prince Rupert, where a disproportionately high number of Indigenous women have gone missing or were murdered.

People marching down the Fraser Highway One Way. Select the image to enlarge.

A lack of action by governments and the justice system has led to increasingly urgent calls for change. Jaime Black, who is a Métis artist, started the REDress Project in 2010 as a response to this crisis and to raise visibility. According to Black, the colour red is the only colour that spirits see. “So (red) is really a calling back of the spirits of these women and allowing them a chance to be among us and have their voices heard through their family members and community.”

Red dresses hanging in various locations are a symbol of the movement. You may have seen these red dresses throughout Downtown Langley City over the last week.

I, among other people, was called to be a witness for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Memorial and March, which took place in Downtown Langley City on Tuesday this week. A witness’s role is to hold onto knowledge of significance, carry the burden of that knowledge, and pass on the knowledge.

The memorial started with drumming, song, and ceremony. We heard from survivors of violence and family members who have lost sisters, aunts, and nieces. We then march along Douglas Crescent and Fraser Highway. We finally heard teaching from Elders of Kwantlen First Nation.

For those of us in government, we were challenged to take action as this violence still continues to this day, and to continue to bring visibility to this crisis.

New Fire Trucks for Langley City in Service

Over the last few years, Langley City Council has approved the renewal of the City’s aging fire truck fleet (the technical term is "apparatus") for Langley City Fire Rescue Service. This included an investment of $737,525.61 for a mini pumper that can respond to small fires, medical calls, and vehicle crashes, $1.8 million for a new pumper engine (which would be the typical fire truck you’d see), and $3.5 million for a new 100' platform fire truck to respond to fires in tall structures ensuring we remain prepared for the arrival of SkyTrain. In total, this works out to $6 million.

New Tower 1 Apparatus. Photo Source: Langley City.

It is important that we invest in fire safety in our growing community. This equipment complements the 9 new suppression firefighters and one new fire prevention officer that Council approved over the last few years, enabling the City to go from operating one 24/7 firefighting crew to two 24/7 firefighting crews.

Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Are Gems (Even if Not Hidden)

Metro Vancouver Regional Parks are among the best-maintained parks I’ve been to and offer unique experiences, diverse ecosystems, and areas to explore. I know that many people rediscovered or discovered the regional park system for the first time over the last 6 years or so.

A friend of mine made it a mission to visit every publicly accessible regional park, and they accomplished that goal.

The Regional District publishes an annual report on the parks system, and I want to highlight some of the work done in 2025.

The Regional District completed a restoration of Imperial Trail in Pacific Spirit Regional Park, opened a new three-kilometre regional greenway in Campbell Valley Regional Park, and opened Widgeon Marsh Regional Park to public access. The Regional District added 3.5 hectares to its parks system by expanding Widgeon Marsh Regional Park and Widgeon Marsh.

There were 14.7 million visits to regional parks and greenways in 2025, which is significantly higher than pre-2020 levels.

Annual visit to Metro Vancouver Regional District Parks from 2005 to 2025. Select the chart to enlarge.

Lynn Headwaters Regional Park and Crippen Regional Park on Bowen Island received a record number of visitors in 2025. While it is great that people enjoy our parks, it can also create localized capacity challenges, such as on Bowen Island, which is only accessible by BC Ferries or private boat.

The following table shows the number of visits to each park/greenway in 2025.

Park Name	2025 Visits
ƛéxətəm Regional Park	386,900
Pacific Spirit Regional Park	3,888,800
Boundary Bay Regional Park	1,148,200
Capilano River Regional Park	1,097,000
tәmtәmíxʷtәn/Belcarra Regional Park	927,500
Campbell Valley Regional Park	887,600
Derby Reach Regional Park	881,700
Tynehead Regional Park	604,600
Lynn Headwaters Regional Park	578,400
Grouse Mountain Regional Park	545,300
Kanaka Creek Regional Park	528,000
Aldergrove Regional Park	464,600
Crippen Regional Park	429,400
Burnaby Lake Regional Park	422,900
Deas Island Regional Park	362,800
Brunette-Fraser Regional Greenway	292,300
Iona Beach Regional Park	287,900
Pitt River Regional Greenway	229,700
Brae Island Regional Park	227,900
Minnekhada Regional Park	188,900
Surrey Bend Regional Park	130,800
Delta South Surrey Regional Greenway	63,200
Seymour River Regional Greenway	53,600
Glen Valley Regional Park	49,700
Barnston Island Regional Park	11,500

For more information, please check out the 2025 Regional Parks Annual Report.