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River sirens to be tested Monday

The tests will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

BC Hydro is advising the public that the company will test its siren system on Monday, June 8.

BC Hydro warning sirens are placed along the river from the Comox Dam to Puntledge Park and will initiate should a water flow incident take place. Permanent river safety signage is in place, but the siren system provides the real-time notice in advising people to get out of the river.

Normally, the sirens are tested with actual high water releases from the dam. This year, due to the already low water levels, the sirens will be manually initiated by pouring water into the holding wells beside the river to mimic a river flow increase and make sure all the sirens are operational. The tests will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Seven individual siren systems will be tested.

This test is necessary, to confirm that the sirens work as designed during this simulated river flow change.