To preserve the water supply, the Puntledge River water levels need to go down.
BC Hydro’s Comox Lake Reservoir has steadily trended downward since the end of April with it currently sitting around 134.3 metres.
With water supply projecting to be 61% of normal until September, BC Hydro will reduce the river flow downstream of the powerhouse from 16 to 12 metres per second starting July 24.
The decline is meant to balance the river inflow for the current fish in the river and the fish returning in the fall.
BC Hydro will slowly lower the river flow in stages to prevent any riverbed exposures at the reduced flow rate.
Members will be on hand at key spots in the river during the planned flow reduction to help potentially stranded fish return to the water.
By reducing the flows, BC Hydro hopes to eliminate the need for future flow reductions during dry summer months.
Weather and water inflows throughout the system will continue to be monitored and downstream flows and water storage will be updated in the early fall.
