Local watershed board coordinator calls drought unprecedented, grim

The Cowichan Watershed Board’s coordinator isn’t sugarcoating the severity of the drought.

Rodger Hunter says the situation is unprecedented and grim.

Hunter says the water in Cowichan Lake is 62 centimetres below the 97 centimetre weir, and the effects of the level 4 drought are being seen and felt in the Cowichan River.

Hunter says there have been rumblings about reducing the flow of the river to 4.5 cubic metres per second to keep as much water in the lake as possible.

Catalyst Paper has been encouraging the move, but it’s still not clear if DFO will approve it, because of the impact on fish.