CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – BC Hydro crews have been working hard to observe the flow rates of the Campbell River in light of the extreme heat seen in the region.
“The Campbell River system has come through some dry periods, where we had March, the second driest and May which was the driest on record in terms of lack of precipitation,” said BC Hydro’s Stephen Watson.
He said the snowpack is gone, so crews have been dropping the river flow over time.
“That’s instrumental to the fish out migration as well as we’re looking at reservoir levels for recreation,” he noted.
Watson said the Campbell River is running at about 30 cubic metres per second, and will stay at that rate until about September.
“The upper Campbell reservoir, around Buttle Lake and lower reservoir at McIvor Lake are lower than normal for this time of year, and they’re actually going to go a little bit below what we target for recreation,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate given the lack of water, but for people that go up to those areas, certainly there is recreation that takes place, but the shoreline will be further out so it may be harder to put a boat in the water.”
Watson said it’s been a dry year, and crews are working through that.
He added that there are no specific safety notices in place through the Campbell River system, but advised people to always be careful when in and around water.
