The provincial government is calling for voluntary water-use reductions in the Upper Fraser East, Nechako and Peace regions as streamflows in the central and northern regions remain well below normal and continue to decline.
The drought condition for those three regions was raised to level 3, very dry, from level 2, dry, on Tuesday. Level 3 is also in place for the Northwest, Upper Fraser West, Middle Fraser and the Central Coast regions and Stikine and Skeena-Nass regions remain at drought Level 4, extremely dry.
"If voluntary reductions of water use are not sufficient to maintain flows above critical levels, the ministry may consider regulating water usage under the Water Sustainability Act," the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development said in a statement.
"Specific actions could include the temporary suspension of water licences or short-term water approvals to restore flows to minimum critical levels in the affected streams."
There is a risk of drought continuing into next year if freeze-up in these regions occurs before streams, soil moisture and groundwater levels recharge, the ministry added and also noted that low water levels could inhibit salmon and bull trout from reaching spawning locations.
