Comox Valley moves to Stage 3 watering restrictions to protect salmon

The water inflows to the Puntledge River in August were the lowest in the past 60 years according to BC Hydro. Photo of Comox Lake Reservoir on Sept. 1 by Stephen Watson, BC Hydro.

The Comox Valley Regional District moved new stage three watering restrictions today.

Under the new restrictions residents are not allowed to water their lawns at any time. Only hand watering or micro/drip irrigation of trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables is permitted.

The watering restrictions include the Town of Comox, the City of Courtenay and the Comox Valley Water Local Service Area.

Kris La Rose, senior manager of water services for the district, says the restrictions are in place due to BC Hydro reducing flow to the Puntledge River in order to ensure there is enough water to last through the salmon spawning season.

“We have several salmon runs coming up the river and so the emphasis or the focus is on making sure that there's enough water,” La Rose said. “It's less than it than the fish would like but it's seen as a better idea to reduce the flow and maintain be able to maintain some flow through to the end of the year, rather than flowing hard now and then risking having the river dry up in in October or early November if the if the rains are late again.”

For more information on the watering restrictions in the Comox Valley you can go to the Comox Valley Regional district’s website.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.