The City’s Water Services department is asking Council to approve two additional revisions to the Outside Water Use By-law, as well as the amended by-law itself. The new revisions will support the needs of City operations and do not affect residents and businesses.
The revisions are as follows:
·Allow public sports field irrigation to a maximum of 15 minutes a day during Levels 1—Yellow and 2—Red.
·Introduce an internal permission process for turf watering exemptions such as already exists for residents and businesses.
Full details of these revisions are available online in the Staff Report to the Planning & Building, Engineering and Environment Committee dated January 23, 2014.
Previous revisions to the Outside Water Use By-law, affecting both City operations as well as public water use, are detailed in the Staff Report to the Planning, Building, Engineering and Environment Committee dated October 9, 2013 These revisions were approved by Council on October 25, 2013. Revisions were developed through an extensive review and community engagement process which included opportunities for public comment and feedback.
Changes affecting public outside water use previously approved by Council include:
Watering exemptions for food gardens and urban trees;
·Restrictions to car washing during Level 2—Red drought conditions; and
·Changes to program resources, permitting and administration to better support customer needs.
·Outreach and education about the Outside Water Use By-law will continue this spring.
Detailed information on the changes and the engagement process is available at guelph.ca/owureview.