Continued Water Conservation During Maintenance

September 1, 2015

From the Comox Valley Regional District:

Continued water conservation vigilance needed during BC Hydro's maintenance of the Puntledge River hydroelectric facilities

The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) encourages residents connected to the Comox Valley water system to continue being water-wise as BC Hydro performs fish screen cleaning and semi-annual facility maintenance from September 8 - 18, 2015. 

The fish screen is positioned in the BC Hydro penstock at the Puntledge diversion dam, and requires up to three cleanings per year to maintain efficiency and to benefit salmon. This dam is where the water is diverted from the river, about 3.7 kilometres downstream of the Comox dam, into a pipeline that travels five kilometres to the generating station and back into the river. The purpose of the screen is to divert fish that get pulled into the intake and safely deposit them back into the Puntledge River.

“Typically during this maintenance period we would ask all residents to follow stage 3 water restrictions,” said Koreen Gurak, CVRD’s manager of communications. “However, because we have been at that restriction level since July 3, it’s more of a notice to be extra diligent when it comes to your water use as the CVRD will be supplying water via the standby Puntledge pump station.”
During stage three the following activities are prohibited:

  • Watering lawns (with manual or automatic sprinklers) or pressure washing driveways or boulevards at any time
  • Filling or adding water to a hot tub or garden pond at any time
  • Washing a vehicle or a boat at any time (other than in a commercial car wash or car dealership)

These water restrictions apply to everyone living in the Town of Comox, the City of Courtenay and the Arden, Comox Valley, England Road, Marsden/Camco, and Greaves Crescent water local service areas. All of these areas are served by the Comox Valley water system.

To keep up-to-date with the latest water restrictions, visit www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/restrictions