Between the last Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) water update report at the July 13 committee meeting and July 17, Chapman Lake water storage dropped by five per cent.
The public can view how that reserve level is changing on a daily basis at scrd.ca/water-updates, a webpage staff called a new online “one-stop shop” for all things water system related.
In presenting the update at the meeting, utilities superintendent Codi Abbott noted that current water use on the Chapman system was 1.5 times higher than use recorded in June 2022 and had almost doubled since May. While on Stage 1 restrictions, system demand was at 18.5 million litres per day. After the move to Stage 2 on July 7, Abbott stated there was a daily rate dip to 17.5 million litres. In her assessment, “the time to conserve water is now," and she encouraged continued and heightened efforts to reduce water use.
New sources supplying Chapman system
In addition to promoting new public communication tools and highlighting water use data, the update noted that over a third of the Chapman Water System’s supplies were coming in from recent additions to that source.
Water draws added the previous day from Gray Creek made up 17 per cent of the Chapman system’s total water supply, while intakes from the Chaster well contributed six per cent, staffer Mark Brown noted as he presented a percentage breakdown of where system supplies are coming from.
The SCRD’s Grantham’s water infrastructure, which includes the newly commissioned Church Road wells, was contributing 16 per cent of the potable water being supplied within the Chapman system. Staff noted that on July 12, that well field's contributions were at about 1.7 million litres per day. As of the report date, water being pumped from that source was also being used to provide environmental flows to Soames Creek and the monitoring of the creek flow levels was under way.
What’s happening with in Chapman watershed?
Water from Chapman Creek remains the primary source and made up 61 per cent of the system’s flows as of mid-July, according to the update. After noting that Earth reached its hottest recorded temperatures for four days in a row during July, staff reported on the local impacts. With no significant rainfall within the past 30 days, they estimated that continued warm and dry weather conditions have resulted in the water level at the lake that feeds Chapman Creek dropping by two to four centimetres each day. A current lake water level at “minus 14 centimetres” was reported. As lower lake levels reduce creek water volumes, further reductions in draws from that source were anticipated in order to conserve water in the creek for environmental flow needs.
