1969-1994

April 3, 1994 44 pages

Te VOICE OF NORTH AND WES
oe ,

Oftice, Editorial 985-2131

Lower Mainland faces water
restrictions as snowpacks low

RECENT SNOWPACK
measurements taken around
lakes feeding the Capilano
and Seymour water reser-
voirs indicate the Lower
Mainland could face water
restrictions by the end of
May, according to Greater
Vancouver Regional District
(GVRD) officials.

By Kevin Gillies |

Contributing Writer

GVRD water planning and oper-
ations administrator Tom Heath
said municipalities will be asked to
be part of a program to restrict lawn
sprinkling to two days per week to
conserve water.

April 1 snowpack measurements
— an carly water level indicator —
show that more water will be avail-
able this year than in the last three
years, but the measurements are
still below the annual average.

Heath said snowpack measure-
ments are not necessarily accurate
— they don’t forecast precipitation
— but they are indicative of spring
run-off:

Palisade Lake, which is 15 km

(9.4 miles) north of Cleveland Dam
and ‘the main ‘feeder for the
Capilano reservoir, measured 289
em (114 in.) of snowpack on April
1 compared with the annual average
of 357 cm (141 in.). The water

equivalent of that snow depth mea-

‘surement is 1,322 mm (51.7 in.)
compared with the annual average
of 1,474 mm (58.0 in.).

Orchid Lake, approximately
10.5 km (6.6 miles) further north
and a feeder for the Seymour Lake
reservoir, had a snowpack measure-
ment of 416 cm (164 in.) for a
water outpul of 1,767 mm (67.6
in.).

one annual averages for Orchid

Lake are 461 em (162 in.) fora
water output of 1.832 mm (72.1
in).

While Palisade and Orchid lakes
have maintained 89% and 96%,
respectively, of yearly averages
since measurements started in
January, water restriction: aie ueed-
ed now to help the reservoirs meet
the increased demand for water in
the Lower Mainland.

Current reservoir levels are
inadequate for any extended heat

rave.

Water for the . Greater
Vancouver area is stored in three
reservoirs: Capilano, Seymour and
Coquitlam. The Coquitlam reser-
voir is shared with B.C. Hydro,
which uses the water to produce
electricity. Heath said the GVRD
watershed management is “scram-
bling” to divert water from the lar-
ger Coquitlam watershed to the
Seymour reservoir. ;

According to GVRD watershed
management technologist Wayne
Mather, chronic water shortages are
resulting primarily from the influx
of people into the Lower Mainland,
approximately 60,000 every year.

Heath said the rapid population
growth, combined with the water
district’s unimproved storage
capacity, is placing evermore
demand on a limited supply.

He said water storage capacity
has not been increased in 30 years.

The GVRD has said that current
storage capacity will last for only
another 10 years before either a
larger Seymour Dam will have to
be built or they will have to negoti-
ale with B.C. Hydro for more of the
Coquitlam reservoir’s water.

Restrictions implemented in the
past two years banned lawn sprin-
Kling except for two days of the
week, Water restrictions are a
municipally administered program
and would require the approval of
city or district governments.

Index

BUSINESS vo... ccecssceesteeetereeree TD
Classified... ccc SA
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Vintage Years... 30

Weather

Monday, mostly cloudy with 50%% chance of showers
high 13°C. low 3°C

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NEWS photo Terry Peters

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT technicians Wayne Mather and Roland Totzauer take
spring measurements of the snowpack in the Capilano watershed. Palisade Lake is
15 km (9.4 miles) north of Cleveland Dam and the highest feeder lake in the
Capilano watershed. According to Mather, water shortages stem from the steady
increase in Lower Mainland populations. The water storage capacity of local reser-
voirs has not been increased in 30 years.

LTD dhe ae

ne Site a ue eae

REACHING EVERY DOOR ON THE NORTH SHORE SINCE 1969