The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) has gone back to Stage 2 watering restrictions for users on the Chapman system. The announcement Sept. 19 followed a weekend that saw nearly 30 mm of rain.
Without that rain, the SCRD would have been just a couple of weeks away from installing a siphon system in Chapman Lake to draw more water.
In an update to the Sept. 15 meeting of the infrastructure committee, general manager of infrastructure services Bryan Shoji said Chapman Lake was at 32 per cent capacity, and the Chapman water system as a whole was at 63 per cent. The SCRD started drawing water from Edwards Lake on Sept. 14. Edwards Lake and Grey Creek are the secondary sources for the Chapman system.
Shoji also predicted at the meeting that without significant rainfall, the SCRD would be facing Stage 4 conditions by mid-October, which would have meant deploying the siphon during the last week of September.
Earlier this summer, Shoji’s department estimated the cost of installing the siphon at $123,000, most of it to pay for helicopters to fly in the necessary equipment. The operating cost would be around $15,000 a week (which includes labour, materials, equipment, transportation, and third-party environmental monitoring).
Shoji also told the committee that throughout the summer they’ve been able to maintain an adequate water flow for fish in Chapman Creek. He said the 200 litres/second number they use as a benchmark was set in consultation with an independent biologist.
The flow-rate has been a point of contention between the SCRD and officials at the Chapman Creek Hatchery, who say the minimum flow to support fish populations is actually 300 litres/second.
Environment Canada records show this past August was far drier than August of 2015. Rainfall measured at the Sechelt Airport was just 17.1 mm, compared to 51.7 mm in 2015. But, so far in September we’ve had more than last year: 70.6 mm (as of Sept. 18) compared to 19.8 mm in 2015.
The average August rainfall for the Sunshine Coast is 60 mm, the September average is 88 mm.
