The regional district implements summer water restrictions annually at the start of May, but this year it is taking the unusual step of skipping Stage 1 restrictions and heading straight for Stage 2.

British Columbia’s March snowpack averaged just 79 percent of normal, up from 63 percent a year ago but still low enough to raise the province’s drought risk for spring and summer.

Maine’s sixth-driest summer on record has left more than half the state in severe to extreme drought, cutting crop yields, drying wells, and forcing farmers to haul water and rethink irrigation. Officials warn the deficit could persist into winter and affect 2026 harvests.