Water Supply Update – August

As warm weather continues and water conservation regulations are in place, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is providing a water supply update.

Weather

On August 8 and 9, the SCRD recorded 26 mm of rainfall at Chapman Lake, while the rest of the region at lower elevations received approximately 8-9 mm. The short-term forecast this week and next is predicting increased temperatures with little precipitation which typically results in increased water use.

Chapman Water System

The Chapman Water System is currently relying mainly on supply from Chapman Lake with contributions from Church Road Well Field and Chaster Well.

While the rainfall had a positive impact on the watershed by adding more water to Chapman Creek and reducing draw from the lake, more rain is needed to recover the lake storage used so far this year. As shown on the SCRD website (www.scrd.ca/water-updates), Chapman Lake levels continue to decrease through the summer months.

Church Road Well Field Project is currently supplying 15 to 25 litres per second. This is equivalent to 1.3 million to 2.1 million litres per day. Staff will be upgrading an electrical part and working to increase water supply from this source to the Chapman Water System. Staff are working to increase production to 4.5 million as soon as possible. Water supply from Church Road diversifies the Chapman Water System supply.

Gray Creek was offline for a couple days due to recent rainfall which makes this source too turbid to meet drinking water quality guidelines. Gray Creek is now online again.

South Pender Harbour Water System

Water use in South Pender decreased in July. Thank you to the community for responding and being mindful about water use which maintains water supply and ensures total water use remains under the water licence limit.

Staff are working on options to supplement the South Pender Water System with water from Harris Lake, now and in the future. The South Pender Water System is currently following Stage 3 water conservation regulations.

Other Water Systems

Eastbourne Water System is in Stage 4 Water Conservation Regulations as of July 31, 2023. All SCRD water users on the Egmont, Cove Cay, and North Pender Harbour water systems and groundwater sources in Langdale, Soames Point, and Granthams Landing remain at Stage 1 until further notice.

The SCRD implements Water Conservation Regulations to ensure that water is available for community use, health purposes and fire suppression through the summer and into the fall. In 2022, water conservation regulations helped extend drinking water supply into December when there was no significant rainfall.

 Water Supply Updates

• August 10, watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqfgtP6KLyY&t=2s
• August 24 will be live streamed at 9:00 a.m. and posted to the SCRD website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2HpCNdgOhQ

On August 16 at 9:00 a.m., business owners and operators can join the SCRD, the Sunshine Coast Regional Economic Development Organization (SCREDO) and Sunshine Coast Tourism (SCT) for a second virtual water update for local businesses using the following meeting link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82783050328?pwd=Z2JnRlZOY0JmNVlsSFFCclJRdlJnUT09

Water Conservation

Residents on the Chapman and South Pender Harbour Water System are on water systems with limited drinking water supply. Now is the time to conserve. With the provincial wide drought likely to continue in the near future, voluntary conservation measures are encouraged.

Stage 3 Water Conservation Regulations limit outdoor watering daily to one hour for trees, flowers and shrubs and two hours for food producing trees and plants, between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. must be followed. Shirley Macey Water Spray Park is closed and sports fields are no longer being irrigated.