Pumps continue to sustain the water level of the Cowichan River.
It’s been almost one week since the pumping operation began in an effort to help keep the river flowing.
Catalyst Crofton Environmental Manager Brian Houle said the Cowichan River is maintaining a constant level:
“The level in the river has been held constant, so the pumps are just doing what mother nature’s gravity was doing previously,” said Houle. “The pumps are holding the current flow in the river, the same flow that it has been since June 11.”
Houle said the operation is able to maintain the water level needed in the river.
“The pumps began on Thursday and we have pumped four point five cubic metres per second, the base flow,” said Houle. “The pumps will continue to operate, the lake level is currently at zero, all of the gates open today would be needed to have four and a half cubic metres a second, the pumps are providing that and all the gates are closed.”
Houle said it’s going to be necessary to keeping pumping water over the Lake Cowichan weir until there is significant rainfall.
Dry summer conditions and a low snowpack forced the lake level down to where the local municipal water supply might have reached a critical level.
