HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-10-19, Page 66 News Record • Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Low water advisory increased for ABCA watershed
Extremely low
stream flow and dry
creeks in watershed
Justine Alkema
Clinton News Record
In July, the Water Response Team
(WRT) through the Ausable Bayfield
Conservation Authority declared a
Level 1 Low Water Advisory. A Level 1
advisory encourages the public to
reduce their water usage by 10%.
This advisory was put in place due to
the extremely dry weather the water-
shed saw this spring and summer.
Now, they have raised that advisory
to Level 2, which encourages residents
to voluntarily reduce their water usage
by 20%. This is the first Level 2 since
2012.
For the month of September, rainfall
was only 20-40 per cent of the monthly
normal. This resulted in September
stream flow being only 5-10 percent of
the monthly normal. Many water-
courses have either stopped flowing or
have dried up completely.
"This year's precipitation was very
streaky," said Alec M. Scott, P. Eng.
Water and Planning Manager at ABCA.
"So if you have a wet system come
through, the water comes in bands:'
He mentioned that it was quite a bit
dryer in the middle of the watershed
than in the northern and southern
parts.
In many areas, the flows are so low
they reflect a more serious Level 3 low
water condition. However they have
not declared a Level 3 because there is
less of a need for irrigation this time of
year for things such as crops and golf
courses.
While water levels might be verylow,
there is less demand for this water in
the fall than in the spring.
They likely will not declare a Level 3
at this point for this reason, even if the
situation does not get better.
"In the 15 -year history of the ABCAs
Low Water Response Program, stream
flow through [this] September is in the
range of the record lows set in Septem-
ber of 2012," said Davin Heinbuck,
Lands and Water Technologist at
ABCA.
When it has been close to a Level 3,
there have been meetings with those
who own permits for irrigation in order
to find ways to share the limited supply
of water.
ABCA staff members say they are
hopeful that as we move through
autumn, a shift to wetter weather will
occur, allowing more rainfall to become
available to local streams.
Snowfall may help the situation
somewhat, but how much is absorbed
by the ground depends on how quickly
it melts.
However, staff members remain cau-
tious, as it may be necessary to for the
WRT to consider keeping a Low Water
Advisory in place through the winter. A
decision of this nature would put the
WRT in a better position to deal with
any water shortages should that be a
concem in the spring of 2017.
Justine Alkema Clinton News Record
The Hullet Provincial Wildlife Area has been heavily affected by the lack of
precipitation this summer. The water levels in all of the pools are very low, and
20 hunting stakes are completely dried up.
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