After two months at Stage 3 water restrictions, Town of Gibsons has now removed all water restrictions.
Prior to Nov. 1, the Town had been on Stage 3 on Sept. 1 (for the second consecutive year) in order to supply some water to the Sunshine Coast Regional District and Sechelt.
Gibsons was approved to supply up to 1,000 cubric metres of water from the aquifer to the Chapman water system, which supports about 90 per cent of the lower Sunshine Coast. For 28 days, the Gibsons aquifer supplied an average of 791 cubic metres of water to the SCRD per day, to a total of 22,147 cubic metres, CAO Emanuel Machado told Coast Reporter. The last day the Town supplied water to those systems was on Oct. 23.
"During this period, the Town engaged additional engineering and hydrogeologist’s advice to monitor the additional demand on the aquifer and on the distribution system, including valves, wells, pumphouses, and reservoirs, which provided an opportunity to test the total system’s capacity," he said via email on Nov. 2. "Both the natural and the engineered assets performed well and much operational knowledge was gained through the experience. We want to thank our colleagues at the SCRD who were highly professional and collaborative during this period."
Meanwhile, the Chapman water system continues to see Stage 4 restrictions in effect, although the ban on certain commercial water uses was lifted on Nov. 1. At an Oct. 27 meeting, the SCRD board assigned staff to ask the province to consider more options for water supply and retention.
with files from Bronwyn Beairsto
