Those in the Comox Valley are warned of increased water levels on the Puntledge River as BC Hydro is releasing water from the Comox Dam starting Friday evening and into next week.
BC Hydro issued a public safety advisory Friday for Barber’s Hole and Nymph Falls areas along the Puntledge River where temporary safety signage will be in place during the dam release.
“This evening we will increase discharge from the Comox Dam from about 16 cubic metres per second to approximately 40 cubic metres per second,” says BC Hydro.
The dam release is in response to forecasted weather and to “ensure adequate room to absorb anticipated inflows and maintain operational flexibility during storm season,” states the release.
Since September, water levels have risen 2.0 metres, something BC Hydro calls a “needed recovery in water storage following a dry summer.”
Currently the reservoir level sits at 133.4 metres and BC Hydro intends to keep it below this level at this time of year “for flood risk management.”
With the release starting Friday, BC Hydro expects to see inflows into the reservoir remain above normal over the next seven to 10 days.
Liz Brown is a Digital News Editor with CHEK News. Previously, she worked with the Canadian Red Cross providing emergency disaster communications for B.C. wildfires and led the field communications for…
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