After making it through spring with high levels of rainfall, BC Hydro says the Puntledge and Campbell rivers are expected to have average water levels, which is good news for fish and people who use the rivers for recreation.
Between June and September, Puntledge River is forecast to have water levels at about 142 per cent of normal, and Campbell River is expected to be at 117 per cent.
Stephen Watson, stakeholder engagement advisor for BC Hydro says this is good news for people who use the rivers.
“For both watersheds, it’s better news for recreation in the reservoirs and in the rivers,” Watson said. “It’s good for fish habitat flows, because [in previous years] we’ve been struggling, especially on the Puntledge River, to keep flows above what we call the minimum fish habitat flows.”
Watson says the forecasted water levels haven’t happened for these rivers for four years.
“Since 2017, which was a pretty normal year, it’s been dry, for springs and summers so it’s been hard for BC Hydro, to provide flows downstream for fish habitat, for example,” Watson said. “And have storage in the reservoirs for things like recreation. So this is, in some ways, a so-called average year, which we like to see.”
At the start of the year, Watson says BC Hydro had been planning for another dry summer since there wasn’t much rain January through March, when a lot of precipitation normally occurs.
“We were kind of in conservation mode at the end of March, mid-end of March, we reduced flows and were thinking, ‘Well, looks like this could be another dry period. So let’s try to conserve some of that water,'” Watson said.
“But since April 1, it’s been a big change with precipitation being 180, 200 per cent of normal. And that really switched the snowpack around. And so now we’re in a situation where we’re kind of in an average year.”
For people using the rivers recreationally this summer, Watson says it is good news, but it is also important to be cautious.
“The river flows will be a little bit higher than what they’ve been used in the last four years. And they’re more probably in line with where they should be for this time of year,” Watson said. “So water safety and being aware of especially the banks of the river and any potential trees that could be a hazard, that that’s something that people need to be aware of.”
Chinook, Coho, Chum, and Steelhead salmon head to both rivers around September, and Watson says water levels should still be in a good place for the returning fish.
“We’re first starting off going through the summer in a much better place than previous years,” Watson said. “We’ll try to hold some of that water back so that when the fish return, we can increase flows for the migration and spawning, and of course, hopefully, we get some of the rain in return in the early fall as well.”
Watson says while the rivers are currently in a good place, if there are long dry stretches through the summer, there is a chance river levels will reduce and water conservation steps will need to be taken in order to ensure an adequate supply for salmon in the fall.
“But yes, if we get a dry extended period that goes well into September, then, you know, we may have to consider that,” says Watson.
Laura Brougham
