Port Coquitlam is cracking down on property owners who don't follow the water rules set by Metro Vancouver.
On Monday, the city's finance committee voted to dip into a reserve to hire two "water ambassadors" for the summer. The public outreach program is budgeted to cost $10,000.
And at the city council meeting later that evening, councillors promoted two more bylaw officers to have enforcement powers and the ability to issue tickets.
Kristen Meersman, the city's director of engineering and operations, told The Tri-City News last week the water ambassadors will be casual employees who will educate, make inspections on behalf of bylaw enforcement officers and issue notices to violators.
According to her committee report, PoCo has logged an average of eight complaints a day since Metro Vancouver activated its Stage 2 water restrictions on July 3.
Under Stage 2, those who flout watering regs face a warning for their first infraction and a $100 fine for subsequent violations. The penalties go up to $200 and $300 respectively for stages 3 and 4.
Meersman said most of the violations happen outside of the regular working hours for the city's bylaw and engineering staff. As a result, the ambassadors — as well as the two new bylaw enforcement officers — would have more flexible hours. If needed, two more ambassadors could be added to reinforce the message until Labour Day, she said.
At Monday's council meeting, Coun. Brad West reiterated what Stage 2 means: lawn sprinkling is limited to once a week — Mondays from 4 to 9 a.m. for even-numbered addresses and Thursdays from 4 to 9 a.m. for odd-numbered addresses
West also addressed some recent concerns voiced by the public about why the city continues to water its fields during Stage 2. Though it may look bad, he said, the city wants to ensure the "playability" of the fields.
@jwarrenTC
