Improvements are being sought in Cowichan Lake weir operations as fears of another drought loom this summer, despite the recent heavy rainfalls.
The rain has refilled Cowichan Lake, and the weather forecast for the area indicates there could be more than 100 mm of additional rain expected within the next week, which is giving some hope that the coming summer won’t see water levels in the lake and Cowichan River drop as low as in recent years.
Brian Houle, the environment manager at the Catalyst Crofton mill which owns and operates the weir, said that, hopefully, the cooler weather the region is currently experiencing will also hold and there will be some accumulation of snow in the snowpack of the surrounding mountains, as well as higher lake levels, as a result of the precipitation.
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But he said that, as the snow pack in the mountains continues to be low so far this winter, the low snow accumulation persists in being a serious concern for water and fish in Cowichan Lake and the Cowichan River in 2024, given how last summer progressed with a major fish kill in the river due to low water flows and high temperatures in July.
The severe drought that struck the region last summer lowered water levels in the Cowichan River dramatically, so Catalyst had to use 20 pumps for more than a month in September and October to pump water over the weir to sustain water levels in the river with a base flow of 4.5 cubic metres per second.
A winter with below average snowpack followed by a drought beginning in mid-May were the root cause of last year’s dry conditions and, with the snow pack already significantly low so far this season, there are fears of yet another serious drought in 2024.
The Cowichan basin has experienced 14 droughts since 1998.
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Houle said stakeholders are determining if there are benefits of earlier control of the water levels in the lake and river this year to mitigate the impacts of drought conditions which could impact the area again this summer.
He said that Catalyst, which operates the weir under licence from the province, is not authorized to begin to control the water levels in the lake and river until April 1.
“But given the low snow pack, we may need to do things differently this year,” Houle said.
“With so much rainfall predicted in the next seven days, we can continue to monitor to see how the lake level changes and work from there. Given the concern for the watershed, a special meeting with regulators and Cowichan Tribes was held to discuss how weir operations could improve for 2024, and a follow-up meeting is planned.”