Drought triggers new water crisis on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast

garretschoenbergOctober 18, 2022

The region has experienced worsening drought conditions over the past decade, which is directly linked to climate change, local government officials said.

Since 2015, the area has implemented some strict water-saving restrictions, prohibiting all outdoor watering, including this year. sun media

Drinking water shortages reached new crisis levels this week on the Sunshine Coast, where a state of emergency was declared and some public facilities, such as pools and water-intensive businesses, were cut off.

The region has experienced worsening drought conditions over the past decade, with local government officials saying this is directly related to climate change.

On Monday, the Sunshine Coast Regional District, Sechelt District, and Sishal Nation declared a state of emergency at the Chapman Reservoir System, which supplies water to about 70% of the region’s 32,000 people. There is a danger of running out of clean drinking water.

The town of Gibson is unaffected as it is in its own aquifer. Some businesses in the area, such as Central Coast Concrete and Swanson’s Concrete, have their own water supply.

Since 2015, including this year, the area has implemented several Tier 4 or severe water restrictions, prohibiting all outdoor watering.

With the latest emergency restrictions, local government officials estimate that drinking water may only last until early November without rain.

“This is not a disappearing situation. This is not a one-time event. …We have expanded our water system three times in the last ten years and it is still not enough,” said Regional District Infrastructure Services Officer. General Manager Remko Rosenboom said.

Local governments are also seeking approval from state and federal officials to reduce water discharge into the fish-protecting Chapman Creek to increase water supplies for people.

Rosenboom said the shortage of drinking water is directly attributable to climate change, with dry summers lasting longer and longer. He pointed out that while the population is growing, individual water use rates are declining, and so is overall use.

According to Rosenboom, reservoirs aren’t being replenished by rain as they were in the past.

The local government is building two well systems to increase the water supply. One will be ready soon and the other he will have ready in 2024. It will also install water meters in Sechelt homes so they can change the water and detect leaks that could waste a lot of water, he said.

These initiatives will cost as much as $22 million, a huge financial burden for sparsely populated areas, said Rosenboom.

They are applying for state and federal grants to support the metering program, but they had to act quickly and couldn’t wait for the well program grant, he said.

Other BC communities are facing similar challenges as they try to find the billions of dollars needed to adapt to climate change and mitigate its impacts, according to a Postmedia research series published earlier this year. increase.

On the Sunshine Coast, Persephone Brewing had to close its brewery, but retail is open.

The company’s chief operating officer, Sarah Parsley, said the region has experienced drought-like conditions in the past, but that’s not the case later this year.

She said it was clear that existing infrastructure could not cope with climate change.

“It will take a collective effort. It is not just municipalities that are responsible. Business owners, community members, local, state and federal governments need to address this issue and ensure that climate change is what we expect. We need to recognize that we are coming closer than ever,” Parsley said.

John Richardson, a professor at the University of BC who studies drought, said the dry weather in the second half of BC was notable.

September was the warmest and driest month on written record in the last 130 years, and October is likely to be, Richardson said.

Drought conditions will worsen as warmer weather increases evaporation, he said.

Richardson noted that there are limits to what can be done to increase water supply due to the limited water storage capacity of the coast. He also noted that building capacity to deal with extreme situations can be costly.

“Can you get to the stage of who gets the water, man or fish?” Richardson pointed out.

ghekstra@postmedia.com

twitter.com/gordon_hoekstra

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