Whistler reservoir waters at critical levels following water main break

The resort municipality of Whistler has introduced Stage 4 water restrictions in order to "urgently" protect water supplies after a break in a significant water main.

In a statement, the municpality says its reservoirs are currently at a "critical level" — the minimum required to ensure there is enough water available in the event of a fire emergency.

Stage 4 water conservation measures restrict outdoor water use to drinking purposes only. Community and local businesses are being told to immediately limit non-essential water use. 

Residents are also being advised to:

• Stop any form of garden or lawn watering; filling or refilling of pools, hot tubs or fountains; washing of cars, bikes and boat is not permitted.
• Reduce water use by turning down or turning off air conditioners and any other systems using water.
• Take shorter showers, and avoid any non-essential use.

Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden says the break occurred in a two-foot diameter steel pipe on Tuesday around 4:30 p.m. on Lorimer Road and is impacting one of Whistler's main water supply lines.

All construction exemption permits have been temporarily revoked and forest wetting and fuel thinning have stopped.

'Very serious situation here'

Wilhelm-Morden said she anticipates it could take a few days for the water main to be fixed, and for the main water supply to be restored.

"We are in a very serious situation here. We're very concerned about the extreme fire hazards, about the very dry forests.  We've been putting that message out for weeks about being very careful with cigarettes and so on," she said.

"Another compounding factor is we're right at the height of our summer visitation. We've got thousands and thousands of guests here, so the water demand is huge."