Park Board Restricts Watering

August 11, 2003 (No. 43) - In response to the GVRD's recent, further water restrictions, the Vancouver Park Board has reduced watering in parks. No park areas will be watered for the duration of the restrictions with the exception of the following:

• Ornamental Gardens and Flower Beds
• Sand-based Playing Fields
• Golf Courses
• Nursery and Tree Farm
• Newly Planted Street Trees

These exemptions, permitted under GVRD rules, are also based on maintaining major Park Board investments that help provide valuable resident amenities through increased field usage and park and street beautification.

In a continued effort to make its facilities self-sustainable, the Park Board has put in place numerous measures to reduce consumption of the City's water supply over the past decade. Former playground wading pools, which had to be filled and emptied on a daily basis during the summer months, are being incrementally replaced with recirculating spray parks and other water features. The city's three full length golf courses, redeveloped over the past decade, have their own wells or holding ponds that re-circulate nearby streets and course run-off for irrigation. Ponds and lakes which had depended on constant supply of fresh water are being restructured to maintain levels from natural run-offs, or if near the sea, by using salt water.

Contact: Terri Clark, Communication Coordinator, phone: 604-257-8438 or cell: 604-861-4375

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation maintains 200 parks and 40 major facilities throughout the City of Vancouver. The Park Board's mission is to provide, preserve and advocate for parks and recreation services to benefit people, communities and the environment.

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