Drought grips B.C.'s Peace River region

By TIFFANY CRAWFORD, Vancouver Sun   August 18, 2010

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. -- The Peace River region is suffering the worst drought in 20 years and dwindling water supplies have forced officials in Dawson Creek to impose water restrictions on nearly 13,000 residents.

Mayor Mike Bernier said the city hasn’t seen rain in close to 100 days and the rivers in the Peace Region are all at a historical low. It is the first time the city has had to impose such strict conservation measures, he said.

Effective today, all residents will be forbidden to use water outside their homes, including watering their lawns and washing their cars and they will be asked to conserve potable water.

Bernier said the oil and gas companies in the area use 25 per cent of the city’s water supply and will also be forbidden to use of potable water for industrial use.

He anticipated that residents and industry will abide by the restrictions because most people are aware of how dry the conditions are.

"We’re expecting some rain this weekend but because we are so dry the rain will go straight into the ground,” he said.

“There are places where the ground is so dry it has cracked. It looks almost like a desert out there.”

To fill the water reserves to a safe level, it would need to rain for a week or two, Bernier said.

On Wednesday, Dawson Creek officials announced a partnership with Shell to build an $11 million water treatment plant to retreat sewage water for industry use by next year. About $9.75 million will come from Shell and the remainder will come from the city’s water and sewer reserves, Bernier said.

The city will also use the treated water on sports fields and for other non-potable uses.

The B.C. Oil and Gas Commission issued a directive on Aug. 11 to all industry clients in the Peace River Region to suspend drawing water from four major rivers in the region. The directive, posted on its website, says the area has suffered a “severe summer drought” and the suspension will be lifted when the drought ends.

Meantime, the B.C. Environment Ministry says many streams are at or near record low water levels.

Most tributaries are near or at record minimum low flows for this time of year.

In the North, the Liard River and the Skeena Rivers are at a 20-year lows, while the Bulkley River is at a 10-year low.

The Cariboo region is also dry with the Quesnel and Horsefly rivers at 10 to 20-year lows, while flows along the Fraser River are at a 10-year low.

Other dry areas include Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, the Central Interior and the Okanagan.

On Vancouver Island, rivers of concern are the Tsolum River, which is well below average streamflow and Tofino Creek, which is slightly below average.

ticrawford@vancouversun.com
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