Holland Lake is at 90 per cent capacity, but could ‘rapidly dry down’ in an emergency

Bailey Seymour
Jul. 15, 2023 3:30 p.m.
LOCAL NEWS

Ladysmith council members discussed the water capacity of Holland Lake at a committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, July 11.

Town of Ladysmith staff members warned that water supply levels at Holland Lake are especially low for this time of year, and residents should be careful with their water usage in the future.

On Tuesday, July 11, members of Ladysmith town council and staff discussed the current water supply status at a committee of the whole meeting. Coun.
Duck Paterson requested a verbal update from staff on the water levels of Holland Lake, which provides the bulk of water to Ladysmith residents throughout the summer.

Chris Barfoot, director of parks, recreation, and culture, said the water level of the reservoir is at 90 per cent capacity, which is “on the low end of our seasonal levels;” however, he said there’s no reason to panic.

“Although 90 per cent sounds good, it’s important to keep in mind that Holland Lake in particular has an uneven bottom and as you go down to 30-40 per cent, you have much less water. When we measure percentage we measure vertically, but the volume is not 90 per cent,” he said. “If we had a nearby fire and B.C. wildfire services had to take water from our lake, that would rapidly dry down our lake, and we have no other way to recover from that.”

Coun. Tricia McKay noted that the lakes don’t immediately start to fill after rain, and it can sometime even take months for a lake to begin to refill. Bouma agreed and mentioned last year the Island had “a really dry fall,” and Holland Lake didn’t recover until mid January.

“The main thing to take from this conversation and broadcast more widely is we’re below seasonal average of capacity, and we need to be really responsible with the water usage,” said Coun. Ray Gourlay, adding that he hopes the town can notify residents of the lake water capacity in the future as “there is a cohort of people who are interested in the water levels.”

This year the Cowichan Valley Regional District water restrictions are linked to the provincial drought code; currently the drought code is at Level 5 and local water restrictions are at Level 3.

https://www.nanaimobulletin.com/news/ladysmith-water-supply-on-the-low-end-of-seasonal-levels/