CVRD asks residents to manage water use carefully during BC Hydro Penstock shutdown

Via the Comox Valley Regional District:

BC Hydro will be undergoing annual maintenance on the BC Hydro penstock, including fish screen cleaning at the Puntledge diversion dam from March 18 to 23.

During this time, the penstock will be shut down and water for the Comox Valley Water System will be pumped directly from the Puntledge River. At this time of year, water flows are sufficient enough to avoid moving to water restrictions, however residents are being asked to use water responsibly during this time.

“Water demand within the system is typically low enough in March that we should be able to weather this period with no water restrictions and still meet the needs of our residents,” explained Mike Herschmiller, Manager of Water Services for the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD). “However, there will be less water available to us so we are asking residents to avoid activities like washing their driveways and cars during this outage.”

Herschmiller says as a precaution the CVRD will be conducting regular testing of water at the Puntledge intake and other parts of the water system to ensure water quality is not negatively impacted during the shutdown.

The Comox Valley Regional District is a federation of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing sustainable services for residents and visitors to the area. The members of the regional district work collaboratively on services for the benefit of the diverse urban and rural areas of the Comox Valley.