One of the largest lakes on Vancouver Island is Lake Cowichan, and we are hearing more about the lake than in years before, due to lower water levels.
These could be caused by less snow pack or a hotter than usual spring that causes the snow pack to melt earlier, sending water over the weir and down the river.
There is a need to balance water usage by the residents around the lake, and also feeding Catalyst mill operations in Crofton.
And there is some local opposition by residents to raising the weir as it will affect their waterfront properties.
Perhaps the solution would be to not raise the weir significantly, but to look at ways to hold back some of the water before it enters Lake Cowichan by way of damming a few of the creeks.
One location that could work is going upstream on SHAW CREEK and create a lake by building a dam to control the amount of water that is released.
This way you could hold back some of the spring meltwater or rainwater and release it to maintain a constant level at the weir at the east end of Cowichan Lake.
This will also improve the survival rate of Salmon that work their way upstream to spawn.
One could hope that future weather patterns would help the situation, but there is increasing evidence of global warming the could make future levels of the lake uncertain.
http://www.cmnbc.ca/...watershed-atlas
http://www.cowichanw...ichan-watershed
http://www.cowichanv...tml?mobile=true