Water supplies are above average

By Fred Davies
July 3^rd, 2008

It's been hot and dry but to date there's hasn't been need for extreme measures to mitigate against fire hazard in Oceanside.

With showers in the forecast it appears unlikely area residents will be facing campfire bans or further watering restrictions in the immediate future either.

Mike Donnelly, utilities manager with the Regional District of Nanaimo said even Fairwinds subdivision in Nanoose Bay - an area of high water use and occasional consumption alerts - is faring well so far this summer.

"We haven't had any consistent, dry, hot, weather that's caused us any problems,"said Donnelly.

"More people are looking at their irrigation systems and getting them repaired. That's been a problem in the past."

Donnelly said last summer for the first time a Team WaterSmart crew went door-to-door offering advice on ways to conserve water and plans to do the same again this year in another area of Fairwinds.

"Last year we saw a nine per cent water use reduction in those homes,"he said.

Information collected from the Coastal Fire Centre on Thursday indicates their geographic area, covering a large swath of the south coast and portions inland, has experienced 75 wildfires to date that consumed 79 hectares of land, much less than some other areas of the province. The fire hazard is listed as moderate to high in many areas but no campfire bans are in effect.

Some areas, including the jurisdiction covered by the Bow Horn Bay fire department have implemented a ban on outside refuse burning.

The province's river forecast centre notes good snow accumulations have so far meant above average stream flows for many of the Island's watercourses.




Original Source:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/parksville_qualicumbeachnews/news/22916329.html