Cowichan Tribes, Catalyst Paper and the CVRD came together today to commission 20 high-volume water pumps as a last-ditch effort to prevent the Cowichan River from running dry.
Chief William Seymour says everyone in the Cowichan First Nations Community depends on the river to put food on their table, and when levels are so low, the river is shut down to fishing activity.
The pumps would move six olympic-sized pools of water each hour from Cowichan Lake to the river to maintain flow. Graham Kissack is the VP of Corporate Social Responsibility for Catalyst Paper.
The pumps will only be turned on when there is zero storage. That is currently predicted for October 12th.
