July water use lowest in a decade
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Updated: July 28, 2009 3:49 PM
Water use in the Capital Regional District is at a 10-year low for July.
"There's more water in the reservoir now than the old reservoir had when it was full," said Jack Hull, general manager of CRD water services.
The CRD spent $59 million in 2007 to expand the Sooke Lake Reservoir to include land at Leech River north of Sooke.
The old reservoir held about 12 billion gallons of water, and the existing one almost doubles that at 20 billion gallons.
Hull said usage dropped seven percent below average for this time of year, but he didn't know exactly why.
"You're just seeing people not paying as much attention to their lawns. They're watering their flowers and their veggie gardens and their lawns go dormant until the rains start in the fall."
The Sooke reservoir is a little more than 70 per cent full right now, the water source for all municipalities in the capital region.
Hull said evaporation due to soaring temperatures isn't an issue for the reservoir. The bigger concern is the risk of wildfire in the watershed due to dry conditions.
The CRD will continue to monitor that risk.
Stage one watering restrictions are still in effect. The ban comes in to play between May and September automatically every year to cut back on water usage.
Hull said water restrictions probably won't increase to stage two or three this year.
Check the CRD website for watering details at www.crd.bc.ca/water
lweighton@vicnews.com
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