Residents packed into the Madeira Park Legion Tuesday night to discuss the impacts of water levels for Hotel Lake and Sakinaw Lake.
Leading the night's discussions were the proposed minimum water level of Hotel Lake being reduced to .6 metres.
Currently, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) has been considering the reservoir as an alternate water source for the area. Presently, Hotel Lake reaches a natural drought level of .19 m, with further usage from the SCRD bringing the total to .42 m, according to Ministry of Environment officials at the meeting.
"I don't have a lot of confidence in the numbers that the ministry and the consultants are providing us here today," said Area A Quality Water Association president Joe Harrison.
"Local residents have been conducting surveys and watching the water level for years. Their numbers are more realistic than the ones used to base minimum levels."
Along with water levels, concerns over water quality and climate change were also discussed.
"Hydrology isn't an exact science," explained consultant Mike Curry.
"We are basing our numbers on years of data that we have collected in conjunction with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and made decisions based on the science we collected."
Filling out the head table were representatives from DFO, the Ministry of Environment, Pender Harbour/Egmont director John Rees and SCRD manager of infrastructure services Steve Lee.
"We want to make it very clear that we are not intending to reduce the levels to minimum capacity every year," said Lee. "It is the responsibility of the SCRD to properly manage the water supply, and if the supply reaches minimum levels, the pumps will shut off. No more water will be allowed to be used."
However, that didn't satisfy local residents.
"This has been one of the driest summers on record," said one resident. "In the past 10 years, six of them have been the driest in years, and it's only supposed to get worse."
The area on average between the months of May through to October receives 347 mm of rain. Last year the area received just 161 mm, making it the second driest season on record.
"The system could be revisited if there are consequences that are unforeseeable," Curry said.
Second on the agenda was the proposed water licence application at Sakinaw Lake.
"The ministry received an application to pump 11.31 million litres out of Sakinaw Lake," Lee said.
Issues have been raised concerning the natural arsenic levels in the water quality, and residents have regularly discouraged the application from coming through.
"The levels in the water are within normal, acceptable limits," Lee said. "However, we are aware of the concerns being raised."
While the challenges put forth were similar to ones concerning Hotel Lake, residents were not impressed by the lack of information provided to landowners.
Another public information meeting to further discuss the water licence application at Sakinaw Lake will be held Feb. 27 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Madeira Park Legion.
