Less than two weeks before Christmas and 103 days after enacted, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) has lifted Stage 4 water restrictions for its Chapman water system.
In a Dec. 13 press release the SCRD announced that Chapman users have been returned to Stage 1 water conservation measures, which allow for outdoor water uses that had been banned since Aug. 31. The announcement contained a caveat that those restrictions are subject to change.
“The community is therefore encouraged to perform any activities that require substantial amounts of water now, while most water conservation regulations are lifted,” the release stated.
The document detailed that staff travelled to Chapman Lake, the primary supply source for that water system, on Dec. 12. They observed a limited amount of water flowing over the dam. In staff’s view, area groundwater is recharging the lake underneath a thick layer of ice and snow. The release noted that in combination with the recent rain and snow melt due to higher temperatures anticipated to arrive later in the week, the flows in Chapman Creek are such that it has allowed for Stage 4 water conservation regulations to be cautiously ended.
Another step being taken is the scaling back of the SCRD Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), which has been in place to manage the ongoing drought situation in the area. That EOC was opened Sept. 27 and operations will be continued to allow for a prompt and coordinated response to any water supply challenges later this winter.
In the release, SCRD board chair Leonard Lee said, “I want to recognize the commitment that our community has shown in stepping up and conserving water during what has been a very challenging time. Equally, I want to thank our staff who have put in hundreds of extra hours through the Summer, Fall and Winter months to secure water supply and have shown dedication to the important work that they do each and every day.”
SCRD general manager of infrastructure services, Remko Rosenboom also made a statement that staff’s “main priorities for the coming months will be to resolve large leaks on private properties in the Region and to ensure that the Church Road Well Field is brought online as soon as possible. We have lots of work ahead of us with a new appreciation of just how quickly circumstances that are completely out of our control can result in such drastic changes to our water supply situation.”
“We realize that this has been tough on our communities but unfortunately, what we have seen these past few months are the true effects of climate change which we all must prepare for in future years.”
The Chapman water system supplies water to approximately 90 per cent of the population of the Sunshine Coast, including electoral areas B (Halfmoon Bay), D (Roberts Creek), E (Elphinstone), F (West Howe Sound), District of Sechelt, and shíshálh Nation.
Water users on the SCRD’s Egmont, Earls Cove, Eastbourne, North and South Pender Harbour water systems as well as groundwater sources in Langdale, Soames Point, and Granthams Landing are not currently under any water conservation regulations.
