RAINFALL DOWN Reservoirs low as warm, sunny weather persists DRY WEATHER that is already affecting salmon returns in area rivers will soon affect local residential water supplies from North Shore reservoirs if it continues for much longer, a Greater Vancouver Regional District spokesman said Tuesday. “If it (the weather) continues for another 10 days to two weeks,”’ Bud Elsie said, ‘‘we will be seriously concerned about the situ- ation.’”” Elsie said the water level in Capilano Lake behind Cleveland Dam is 38 feet below the level it was in June while Seymour Lake is 34 feet below June levels. CAPILANO River fish hatchery manager Eldon Stone...‘‘We’ll have eriough coho."’ Though he said the levels are about the same as they were last year at this time, Elsie pointed out that last year was ‘ta bad year. This is one of the worst years since we Started keeping records. So it (the situation) is not average.” He added that the Lower Mainland had begun to get regular rainfall by this time last year. In the last two months just over 28 millimetres of rain has fallen in the Lower Mainland. Thus far this month only 0.2 mm has been recorded. October normally gets about 114 mm. In Septemoer, the area got only 28.4 mm of rain. The September norm is 67.1 mm. Water consumption in the GVRD is currently about 220 mil- lion gallons per day, which Elsie said was normal for this time of year. Elsie said he did not want to alarm people and that the dry weather ‘‘would have to continue to the end of November before it (the situation) got critical, but at the same time it is not good.” ‘VW counc By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter The GVRD is consequently ask- ing Lower Mainland residents not to use water for such non-essential purposes as washing cars and sprinkling lawns and will request those regulations be enforced if the dry weather continues for another two weeks. Tighter controls such as allotting specific amounts of water to specific areas would be instituted by the GVRD if the situation becomes critical. Because the GVRD’s_ water mandate is to deliver water to its member municipalities it does not have the authority to ration water within those municipalities. Village of Lions Bay residents have been advised to conserve water since Sept. 1. Though Lions Bay is in the GVRD it is not part of the GVRD’s water or sewer system. The village gets its water from Harvey Creek. Apart from low levels, water from the two North Shore reser- voirs, because they have not been replenished for so long, is also get- ting stale, Elsie said, which does not represent a health hazard, but gives the water an ammonia smell. Capilano River fish hatchery manager Eldon Stone said the lack of rainfall has made it difficult for the river's fall fish runs, ‘‘but the coho are okay, We’ll have enough coho.”’ Thus far, between 6,500 and 7,000 coho have returned to the river’s hatchery. Stone said the hatchery was hop- ing to get 10,000 coho and would have had up to 25,000 coho returns _ if there had been a lot of rain. But the river’s transplanted chinook stock has not returned in any significant numbers, Stone said in the past 16 years in which the hatchery has attempted to establish a chinook run in the river, returns have been numerous enough in only eight of those years to provide enough eggs without having to import stock from other tivers. Fluctuating Capilano River water levels, he said, were a major factor in underinining the success of the chinook run. The situation at thé Seymour River was similar to that of the Capilano, Fisheries and Oceans Canada spokesman Kent Harper said Wednesday. ay WEST VANCOUVER District Council has ordered the demolition of an old house that has been sitting up on a temporary cribbing at 6232 Wellington Avenue for the past three years. One of the owners of the house, Kenneth Lee, plans to take the matter to county court. Lee’s petition for a further six months in which to. begin reconstruction of the house was denied at Monday’s council meeting. The edifice must be demolished and cleared away and the excava- tion holes filled in within 21 days or the municipality will undertake By MAUREEN CURTIS Contributing Writer the work and charge the owners accordingly. Although some counci] members showed interest in granting Lee another extension, Ald. Mark Sager pushed for the demolition order. “The property has been in this state for 31 months ... The people 3 - Friday, October 23, 1987 - North Shore News NEWS photo Ton Burley “PAWN” DERING HIS next move, six-year-old Owen Watson takes on his dad during the regular ‘Tuesday evening meeting of the West Vancouver Chess Club at the West Vancouver Recreation Centre. The club has its open chess tournament coming up Noy, 13-15 — for information on the tourney or joining t 926-1661. Weather: Friday and Saturday, sunny. Highs near 18°C. INDEX Classified Ads........38 Doug Collins....... Editorial Page... .. Entertainment ........ 14 Home & Garden......23 Horoscopes .. . Bob Hunter........ Lifestyles......... Mailbox...... TV Listings....... What's Going Qn.. if orders cet on Wellington have waited long erough,’’ Sager said. Sager was especially angry that insurance on the property had been allowed to lapse last May, and that the house had been broken into and not boarded up again. “It has a close proximity to the neighboring house — that hor- rified me. It’s put a terrific burden on those neighbors,’’ said district manager Terry Lester. In addition, Monday’s meeting was the second ‘‘show cause’’ hearing held by council to allow the owners of the property to show why the house, purchased in 1983, should nat be demolished. he club, a College emplo yees set for strike vote REPRESENTATIVES of Capilano College’s 180 Office and Technical Employees Union (OTEU) Local 378 members will meet with college management Friday after- noon in a final_attempt to negotiate a contract with the col- lege before a scheduled strike vote is taken by the union Monday. The 130 full-time and 50 part- time OTEU workers at the college have been without a contract since Sept. 30, when their last three-year contract expired. OTEU spokesman Paula Stromberg said Thursday the col- lege workers have not had a raise for the past four years, but declin- ed to give any further details on contract demands pending the out- come of Friday’s negotiations. “But we are optimistic a settle- ment can be reached,’’ Stromberg said, College spokesman Bev Greene said no information would be released until Friday’s negotiations are concluded. The college’s OTEU members were represented by the indepen- dent College Employees Union (CEU) prior to October 1986 when they voted 94 per cent in favor of joining the 7,000-member OTEU. OTEU workers at Capilano Col- lege include all clerical, technical and maintenance staff. The major- ity earn $12 to $14 per hour. ition of house Lee said that delays had been caused by a good number of peo- Assurances Lee had given last time had not been acted upon. But Lee submitted three letters from North Shore contractors ex- pressing interest in his project, but stating that they were too busy to begin work until next spring. He also had letters from engineering firms stating that the old home was safe on its tem- porary support. Lee explained that his plans for the house had been delayed when his mortgage company went into receivership and called his loan. This resulted in his losing $60,000 and being forced tc sell the major- ity ownership of his property. ple, including some council members. For instance, it had taken a year for him to secure a building permit. But several! local residents com- plained about the condition of the property. “T don’t believe he has any in- tention of finishing the house,’’ said Daniel Izzard, who has lived in the area 22 years. “T’m right next door to his atrocity ... If it were up in the Properties, would you have such a piece of junk living next to you?”’ asked Randy Mull.