748 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

I have lived in Victoria for more than 40 years and there has never been a time when reservoir levels have ever come close to dropping so low that we were in danger of not having enough potable water. I do recall a number of times when water had to be allowed to spill out of the reservoir in the winter.

[Sparky]

Wait for it.

We haven’t finished building yet. We are in the programming stage. Reservoirs are supposed to overflow when they are full. Lets the fish have some.

[tjv]

I've said this before and I will say it again, water restrictions are also partly there in place to limit the amount of water infrastructure needed.  What do you think the cost of increasing the height of the dam is plus installing a few 60 inch steel pipes including a few 4,000ish HP pump stations is?

[Nparker]

So the reservoir is as large now as it will ever need to be to service the needs of the CRD?

[Cassidy]

So the reservoir is as large now as it will ever need to be to service the needs of the CRD?

Its' likely the reservoir will remain at its current capacity for many decades to come, but the CRD is actively proceeding with their plan to introduce new sources of water to "top up" the Sooke reservoir. There are many creeks and rivers over in the Leech portion of the watershed, currently untapped for drinking water. The CRD's long term plan is to bring water from somewhere in the Leech over into the Sooke reservoir.

 

As I noted in an earlier post, there is an unused tunnel cored from the Leech to the Sooke, with the eventual intent to use that tunnel to move water from one valley over to the next.

 

But the general buzz is that the additional water source won't be needed for at least 50 years, if indeed it's ever needed. Most of the restrictions on water use are designed to impact something other than lack of water in the reservoir (lots of folks posit that it's all to limit or regulate urban expansion, or to ingrain water conservation habits on the populace as a matter of general practice, even though they're not actually required).

[Mike K.]

It’s a mechanism by which development is controlled.

Keeping the reservoir in a precarious situation (it’s not actually, but the verbiage used around the reservoir makes it appear as such, the watering restrictions, and constant reminders of “drought” and climate change, etc) helps substantiate why expanding the urban footprint is a no-go, despite the fact it’s perfectly feasible given how small our physical footprint is and how much water we actually have.

So instead what we have in areas that aren’t allowed to tap into municipal water is a fleet of water trucks tapping into the water supply via hydrants and delivering that water to customers. Because, you know, that’s the way to do it during a climate emergency.

[Victoria Watcher]

I think the truth is that so little of the water we use needs to be drinking quality.

[todd]

WTF?

So did they just have some really big foresight or was this a mistake?

[Cassidy]

A bit of both, and it's complicated.

They cored it with the intent that it be used, but they quickly discovered that the Leech River is an incredibly wild river, and therefore (when it's running fast) it has very high turbidity. The water is so turbid, that introducing that turbid water into the Sooke Reservoir would (and indeed did during testing) compromise all the clean water already contained in the reservoir.

 

There are solutions to the above issue, but with costs in the tens of millions of dollars, and with not really needing the water for at least 50 years (if ever), the Leech extension to the CRD Watershed is currently more of a land buffer than it is an actual water source (although the Leech does contain an immense amount of water, and those multi million dollar solutions would work ... so it's presumably there if we ever need it).

 

The tunnel is closed and inactive currently, such that there's no capability to "open" it back up anytime soon. It's essentially been blocked at both ends ... but the fundamental large scale engineering portion of the project is still there, waiting to be used if it's determined additional water is required.

[todd]

Maybe we could put some bike lanes in there for the time being?

[todd]

I've said this before and I will say it again, water restrictions are also partly there in place to limit the amount of water infrastructure needed. What do you think the cost of increasing the height of the dam is plus installing a few 60 inch steel pipes including a few 4,000ish HP pump stations is?

I’m willing to throw in a few bucks how much will it cost to use my sprinkler at 5 or 6 PM (I often find that’s a better time to water as per the fungal growth/plant disease)?

Maybe 4-5PM additionally before the water rush-hour?

Can we really not get at least for the time being one more day of lawn watering per week?

Edited by todd, 04 May 2019 - 09:57 AM.

[todd]

Is there a water a rush-hour issue because I can water with a sprinkler right up till 10 AM? Which is just not going to happen by the way.

Edited by todd, 04 May 2019 - 10:40 AM.

[lanforod]

Todd isn't it better to water in early morning rather than evening to avoid the fungi and moss?

[todd]

Todd isn't it better to water in early morning rather than evening to avoid the fungi and moss?

I have morning time responsibilities.

[Victoria Watcher]

use a timer and a drip system.

10am idea is that you do not water during high evaporation mid day.

[todd]

use a timer and a drip system.
10am idea is that you do not water during high evaporation mid day.

Got some drip irrigation just not feasible everywhere.

[tjv]

It’s a mechanism by which development is controlled.

Keeping the reservoir in a precarious situation (it’s not actually, but the verbiage used around the reservoir makes it appear as such, the watering restrictions, and constant reminders of “drought” and climate change, etc) helps substantiate why expanding the urban footprint is a no-go, despite the fact it’s perfectly feasible given how small our physical footprint is and how much water we actually have.

So instead what we have in areas that aren’t allowed to tap into municipal water is a fleet of water trucks tapping into the water supply via hydrants and delivering that water to customers. Because, you know, that’s the way to do it during a climate emergency.

Never heard of that as a design engineer for a major water board in Canada, although not Victoria.  Do you have any back up to this for the CRD?

 

10am idea is that you do not water during high evaporation mid day.

Correct

[Mike K.]

Which part?

[tjv]

limiting development/expansion

[Mike K.]

Oh, just read the minutes of CRD meetings when subdivision proposals seek to have the water lines extended. There was a huge stink about extending water to Bear Mountain, too.

No water = no density.