{"title":"Smithers watering restrictions","question":"Are there lawn sprinkling or watering restrictions in Smithers?","slug":"water-restrictions","place":{"path":"ca/bc/smithers","name":"Smithers","region":{"code":"bc","name":"British Columbia"},"country":{"code":"ca","name":"Canada"}},"category":{"slug":"water-roads-and-snow","name":"Water, sewer, roads and snow"},"owner":"municipal","owner_label":"Municipal","owner_body":{"name":"Town of Smithers","url":"https://www.smithers.ca"},"short_answer":"In Smithers, Stage 1 water restrictions start automatically on April 15 each year if no stage is in force. Under Stage 1, water lawns only on even-numbered days at even street addresses and odd-numbered days at odd addresses. Stage 2 bans lawn watering. Check with the Town for the current stage.","aliases":["sprinkling restrictions smithers","watering lawn smithers","water restrictions smithers","lawn watering days smithers","water ban smithers"],"cost":"Bylaw notice for contravening the water restrictions: $400.","how_long":"Stage 1 starts April 15; no stage stays in force after October 31 unless the Town declares one.","where":[{"type":"phone","label":"Town Hall (bylaw enforcement)","value":"250-847-1600","note":"Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m."},{"type":"phone","label":"After-hours water and sewer emergency","value":"250-877-1562"}],"documents":[],"forms":[{"title":"Water Restriction Bylaw No. 1811","url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/115429/"}],"related":[{"slug":"bylaw-fines","title":"Smithers bylaw fines and how tickets work","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/smithers/bylaw-fines/"},{"slug":"garbage-collection","title":"Smithers garbage collection: schedule, carts and limits","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/smithers/garbage-collection/"}],"nearby":[{"place":"ca/bc/telkwa","name":"Telkwa","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/telkwa/water-restrictions/"},{"place":"ca/bc/houston","name":"Houston","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/houston/water-restrictions/"},{"place":"ca/bc/new-hazelton","name":"New Hazelton","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/new-hazelton/water-restrictions/"},{"place":"ca/bc/hazelton","name":"Hazelton","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/hazelton/water-restrictions/"},{"place":"ca/bc/terrace","name":"Terrace","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/terrace/water-restrictions/"},{"place":"ca/bc/burns-lake","name":"Burns Lake","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/burns-lake/water-restrictions/"}],"topic":{"title":"Watering restrictions in British Columbia, by municipality","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/water-restrictions/"},"facts":{"in_effect":{"label":"When restrictions apply","value":"Stage 1 restrictions start automatically on April 15 each year if no stage is in force. The Town can declare Stage 1 or Stage 2 by public announcement. No stage stays in force after October 31 unless the Town declares one.","short":"Stage 1: from April 15 to October 31; Stage 2 if declared","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/115429/","title":"Water Restriction Bylaw No. 1811, Town of Smithers","section":"s. 4.3, 4.6","quotes":["on April 15th of any year, Stage 1","No Restriction Stage remains in force after October 31st of any year"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}},"schedule":{"label":"Sprinkling schedule","value":"Stage 1: lawns may be watered only on even-numbered days at even civic addresses and odd-numbered days at odd addresses (residential premises). No hours are set. Stage 2: no lawn watering.","short":"Stage 1: odd/even days, no hours set; Stage 2: no lawns","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/115429/","title":"Water Restriction Bylaw No. 1811, Town of Smithers","section":"Schedule A, ss. 1.1, 3.1","quotes":["Water Lawns, except:","For Residential premises with even numbered civic addresses, on even","when Stage 2 Restrictions are in force, it is"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}},"exempt_watering":{"label":"Allowed at any time","value":"Stage 1: flower and vegetable gardens, shrubs and trees may be watered; drip irrigation is not 'watering'. Stage 2: gardens, planters, shrubs and trees only by hand with a shut-off hose, not sprinklers or soaker hoses.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/115429/","title":"Water Restriction Bylaw No. 1811, Town of Smithers","section":"Schedule A, ss. 2.2(f), 3.1(c); s. 3","quotes":["Flower gardens, vegetable gardens, shrubs or trees.","unless such watering is carried out by hand with a hose equipped with an Automatic","to lands or plants but does not include the method known as"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}},"new_lawns":{"label":"New lawns","value":"New lawns (newly placed sod, turf or grass seed) are exempt from both Stage 1 and Stage 2 restrictions.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/115429/","title":"Water Restriction Bylaw No. 1811, Town of Smithers","section":"s. 3 definitions; Sched. A s. 2.2(g)","quotes":["means the following are exempt from Stage","New lawn installations.","\"New Lawn\" means an installed Lawn either by newly placed sod, turf or"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}},"fine":{"label":"Fine","value":"Bylaw notice: contravening the water restrictions (s. 5.2) $400, with $200 early and $500 late shown; s. 8.1 describes the columns differently, so confirm with the Town.","short":"Notice $400 ($200 early, $500 late); confirm with Town","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/290948/","title":"Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 2011, Town of Smithers","section":"Schedule A, Water Restriction table","quotes":["Contravene water provision 5.2 400.00 200.00 500.00 NO","amount set out in Column 3 of \"Schedule A\"; or"]},{"url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/115429/","title":"Water Restriction Bylaw No. 1811, Town of Smithers","section":"s. 5.6","quotes":["Each offence, under summary","$5000.00 and not less than $100.00"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"},"sources_differ":"Amounts are from the Schedule A table of Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 2011 (adopted Aug. 25, 2026). The table headings read Penalty / Early Payment (within 14 days) / Late Payment (after 28 days), but s. 8.1 of the same bylaw says the Column 3 amount is payable within 14 days, Column 4 between 14 and 28 days and Column 5 after 28 days, so which figure is the 'full' amount is unclear; confirm with the Town. No Municipal Ticket Information bylaw was found in the bylaw library."},"bylaw":{"label":"Bylaw","value":"Bylaw No. 1811 - Water Restriction Bylaw","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/115429/","title":"Water Restriction Bylaw No. 1811, Town of Smithers","section":"s. 1","quotes":["Bylaw No. 1811 - Water","Restriction Bylaw"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}}},"facts_summary":{"total":6,"stated":6,"matched":6,"none":0,"unknown":0},"body_markdown":"## How it works\n\nThe [Water Restriction Bylaw No. 1811](<https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/115429/>) sets two stages. Stage 1 starts automatically on April 15 each year if no stage is in force. The Town can declare Stage 1 or Stage 2 by public announcement. No stage stays in force after October 31 unless the Town declares one. To find the current stage, call the Town at 250-847-1600.\n\n## Good to know\n\n- Stage 1: lawns may be watered only on even-numbered days at even civic addresses and odd-numbered days at odd addresses (residential premises). No hours are set. Flower and vegetable gardens, shrubs and trees may be watered; drip irrigation is not \"watering\".\n- Stage 2: no lawn watering. Gardens, planters, shrubs and trees only by hand with a shut-off hose, not sprinklers or soaker hoses.\n- New lawns (newly placed sod, turf or grass seed) are exempt from both stages.\n- Fine: contravening the restrictions is a $400 bylaw notice. The early and late amounts and their timing should be confirmed with the Town.","sources":[{"url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/115429/","title":"Water Restriction Bylaw No. 1811, Town of Smithers","accessed":"2026-11-06"},{"url":"https://smithers.civicweb.net/document/290948/","title":"Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 2011, Town of Smithers","accessed":"2026-11-06"},{"url":"https://www.smithers.ca/contact-us","title":"Contact Us, Town of Smithers","accessed":"2026-11-06"}],"sources_read":"2026-11-06","review":{"status":"machine_checked","badge":"Checked against official text","label":"Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text."},"urls":{"html":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/smithers/water-restrictions/","markdown":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/smithers/water-restrictions.md","json":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/smithers/water-restrictions.json"}}