The Comox Valley Water System’s Stage 3 water restrictions, originally slated to end Wednesday, Sept. 20, have been extended to Sept. 22 at 4:30 p.m.
The restrictions, which have been in place since Sept. 10, were initiated to accommodate routine maintenance and repair work at the Puntledge River generating station.
While BC Hydro was conducting the semi-annual maintenance, an unexpected issue arose.
“They’ve run into a couple of things they needed to fix, that weren’t expected,” said Mike Herschmiller, water service manager for the Comox Valley Regional District. “So it’s delayed the re-watering of the penstock by a couple of days. They take the penstocks offline [during the maintenance procedure]; this one they de-watered completely, and during their inspections they found stuff they needed to do that they hadn’t planned on. They are getting it done and they are working as fast as they can.”
The restrictions apply to the Town of Comox, City of Courtenay, and the Sandwick, Arden, Comox Valley, England Road, Marsden/Camco and Greaves Crescent Water Local Service Areas.
Herschmiller said the recent wet weather has been a blessing for the procedure.
“The weather right now has probably helped the situation, because people don’t need to water, and it’s supposed to rain again next week, so… people don’t need to water through the weekend.”
During Stage 3 water restrictions residents are prohibited to water their lawns or pressure wash driveways and boulevards; fill a swimming pool, hot tub or garden pond; or wash a vehicle or boat (other than in a commercial car wash or car dealership).
A resident may:
1) Water trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables on any day between the hours of 4- 7 a.m. and 7-10 p.m., if watering is done by hand-held container or a hand-held hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle.
2) Water newly planted trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetables by hand-held container or a hand-held hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle during installation and at any time during the following 24 hours after installation is completed.
3) Use micro-irrigation or drip-irrigation systems to water trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables on any day between the hours of 4-7 a.m. and 7-10 p.m.
4) Water all-weather playing fields at any time, but only if failure to do so will result in a permanent loss of plant material.
5) Use water to wash sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, exterior windows, or exterior building surfaces, but only if necessary for applying a product such as paint, preservative, and stucco, preparing a surface prior to paving or repointing bricks, or if required by law to comply with health or safety regulations.
For more details about Stage 3 water restrictions, visit: www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/restrictions