If you are a Cowichan Lake area resident, you have probably noticed that the Cowichan River has dropped below regular seasonal levels this year.
This drop has local conservation groups and governments worried.
“We are a few days away from setting an all time record for drought conditions in the Cowichan Watershed and the lake and river are perilously low and dropping with almost no water coming in from any of the feeder creeks. There is only 30 centimetres of stored water at the lake and the level is dropping at over 1 cm per day,” said Parker Jefferson of the Cowichan Lake and River Stewardship Society.
While some may be concerned that these groups intend to push for the weir on Cowichan Lake to be raised, what these groups, including the CVRD, Cowichan Tribes, Catalyst, The Cowichan Stewardship Roundtable, BC Wildlife Federation, The Cowichan Lake and River Stewardship Society, The Quamichan Watershed Roundtable and the Cowichan Watershed Board really want is the ability to use the existing infrastructure in a more efficient manner.
These groups are concerned because the lack of water supply could mean the temporary shut down of the Crofton Mill, extreme water conservation measures for the City of Duncan, and the inability of chinook salmon to reach their spawning grounds above Skutz Falls.
“To reduce the risk of a dry river the flow was reduced this [past] week to 5.5 cubic meters per second which is well below the safe level for fish health and sewage dilution. As a result the struggling run of Chinook salmon are unable to get to their normal spawning grounds above Skutz falls and barring substantial rains we are four weeks away from a very serious shortage for domestic use, agriculture and the Crofton pulp mill operation,” said Jefferson.
Gerald Thom, president of CLRSS says that the amount of water coming into the lake during the summer months has dropped 30 per cent over the last 30 years.
“Winter levels are the same if not more,” said Thom. “In fact the flooding is probably more severe [due to climate change]. But this flooding has absolutely nothing to do with the weir.”
“Members of the roundtables organizations are currently working with the various local organizations and the provincial regulators to bring forward the discussion of using a more flexible approach to flow management including the use of a rule band approach where, when necessary, water will run at a lower level and, where possible, at a higher level depending on the issues facing the watershed,” said Kate Miller chair of the Cowichan Stewardship Roundtable.
Miller explains that the Stewardship Roundtable was formed nine years ago as a result of the 2003 drought crisis. Its primary mandate at that time was to bring together all the players who had an interest in the river to discuss the issue and seek solutions. This was the first opportunity for many of the players who had been affected to meet as a group and move beyond a supposed confrontational dialogue to find alternative solutions and understand each group’s interest.
Thom adds that discussions already take place each week during the summer between these interested parties to decide what action should be taken to deal with water level and flow issues, but the final decision rests in the hands of John Baldwin from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations.
“The current flow management rules follow a predetermined line from the top of the weir on July 9, to zero storage by Nov. 1 (rule curve). This strict and inflexible protocol does not allow for extraordinary weather conditions like we have experienced this year, a situation that many expect to become more common in these times of changing climatic conditions,” said Jefferson.
“If we are slightly outside this curve, [Baldwin] says we have to let it go,” adds Thom. “This July was wet and we were dumping water and all of us were saying, can we hold it back? But many lake front property owners were saying to dump it, so he dumped it. If we handn’t, we would have more water now.”
What the above groups want is to start a dialogue between all interested parties, including lakefront property owners, to find solutions that will help to mitigate future problems.
“A participatory method in which all concerns can be heard and which is allowed to make the most strategic recommendations with regards to water flow into the river in times of high winter snowpack storage—which would ensure summer flow into the lake—and use the existing deposition curve as much as possible. In years of low snowpack hold water longer in the spring to consider the reduced storage potential in the lake over the summer as inflows are reduced, as well as allowing for the storage of summer rain if necessary which must be currently dumped. A review of the necessary base flows should also be included as the minimum flows may not be adequate to meet changing conditions in the system,” said Miller.
“The Cowichan Watershed Board’s position is that local decision making would result in wiser decisions about our watershed. You can’t expect remote decision makers with lots of other issues and priorities to manage to know or care as much about our watershed as the people who live here. When you are closer to the action it is to be held accountable for what’s done or not done,” said Rodger Hunter of the Cowichan Watershed Board.
“We think that a local collaborative group like the Cowichan Watershed Board would be an ideal watershed management body. Under its governance structure board members are either elected mayors, CRVD directors, Cowichan Tribes chief and councillor, or appointed by someone who is elected. This leads to accountability. Plus it is a true local partnership. The Technical Advisory Committee that provides advice to the board is made of representatives from government agencies plus a wide variety of interests including stewardship groups like the Cowichan Lake and River Stewardship Society. But, and this is a big but, a local governance body would need the province to give it some authority and enough resources to be successful. The Province is looking at issues like this as part of its Water Act Modernization project,” added Hunter.
In a response to an ad posted by the CVRD in local papers stating their position that “We need the Province to work with us to manage the river better. Specifically we are asking for flow management guidelines that are more flexible and incorporate current weather and watershed conditions,” Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations spokesperson Brennan Clarke had this to say:
“The B.C. government takes drought concerns seriously, and works with local communities to address drought concerns throughout the province. As an example, ministry staff are working with the Cowichan Watershed Board to study the interaction between the surface and groundwater in the lower river.”
Brennan went on to add that, “In June the province provided options to the Cowichan Water Board and the Cowichan Valley Regional District that could be pursued to address their concerns about water levels.
“For example, the Cowichan Valley Regional District can apply for a new water licence on conservation grounds, allowing them to increase the lake’s allowable storage. The province does not believe it should unilaterally alter long-standing agreements on water usage in the area, but is willing to help facilitate a community-derived solution, endorsed by local government with the proper water licences in place.”
At Rivers Day, which took place at Stoltz Pool on Sept. 30, CLRSS members had a petition for people to sign if they wished to show their support for more local management of the Cowichan Watershed.
“It’s going online,” said Jefferson. “We don’t necessarily want to have a paper petition. It sort of depends what happens but our initial thrust is to launch a website.”
Jefferson was not ready to disclose the name of the website or the name of the group behind it quite yet, as he says there is still work being done to finish the website, but the information will be forthcoming in the next week. He says that the website will be a way for everyone in the Cowichan Valley to become involved in the discussion about the management of the watershed.
“And understand what it is we are trying to accomplish,” said Jefferson. “Which is essentially get control of our watershed. We think that’s achievable by next year. We’re all working together for the good of the Cowichan Valley.”
