Regional district officials watch water levels
Residents in the northern part of the RDN urged to conserve as much water as possibleWalter Cordery, Nanaimo Daily News
Published: Friday, May 01, 2009

Some residents in the northern part of the Regional District of Nanaimo are being urged to conserve as much water as they can, or face extra restrictions this summer due to unusually low levels at the Arrowsmith Dam.

City residents, however should not notice any difference in their watering restrictions, says Bill Sims, manager of water resources.

April has been drier than usual, raising concern among RDN officials, who are trying to avoid a repeat of last year when some residents connected to the Nanoose Bay water system used up to six times their normal winter water consumption, placing an added strain on the system.

"We are not seeing any significant rainfall that would help in raising the water level at the dam," said RDN board chairman Joe Stanhope.

"Although we hope that the remaining snow melt will assist to increase reservoir levels, in the interest of conserving water, there may be a need for extra watering restrictions in Parksville and the Nanoose Bay Peninsula water service area this summer."

While the snow pack that feeds the Nanaimo main reservoir at Jump Creek is 25% below its normal level, Sims doesn't foresee any added restrictions the city will need to impose.

"When we noticed the snow pack was lower than normal we started storing water in February," Sims said.

"We anticipate we will be in good shape for the rest of the year as long as we don't have some especially long, hot, dry spells. We expect we will have a full reservoir at Jump Creek by the middle of May," he said.

The situation is quite different in Parksville, said Mayor Ed Mayne.

"The system cannot maintain supply if unnecessary use of water continues, particularly since we are not getting the rain we normally would," Mayne said. "We encourage all residents to look at their water use and conserve wherever they can so that we won't be faced with a summer water shortage."

The Arrowsmith Dam controls the release of water from the Arrowsmith Lake reservoir to the Englishman River. The Arrowsmith Water Service, a joint venture of Parksville, Qualicum Beach and the RDN, operates and maintains the dam and storage reservoir, which currently benefit the City of Parksville and the RDN Nanoose Bay Peninsula Water Service Area.

In Nanaimo, Sims said residents can expect the usual watering restrictions to begin on June 1, with even-numbered homes being allowed to water their lawns and gardens on even-numbered calendar days and the reverse for odd-numbered homes.

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