“This plan underlines Metro Vancouver’s commitment to sustainable management of our drinking water, which includes providing clean, safe drinking water, protecting fish habitat and adapting to climate change,” said Board Chair Greg Moore. “Our dams and reservoirs will continue to store the water the region needs and consumes throughout the summer, when the demand for water is the highest.”
According to a report the benefits of the new water use plan include:
• The capacity to reliably supply clean, safe drinking water would be maintained at current levels in the June to November period, even in dry years with low reservoir inflows.
• Improved conditions for fish in the lower Capilano River below Cleveland dam under most conditions (on average approximately a doubling of the fish habitat in the summer).
• Improved ability to control the rate of change in water flow from the Capilano reservoir to reduce the risk of stranding fish in the lower Capilano River.
• Reduction of greenhouse gases by generation of clean electricity from the water that would otherwise spill from the existing Capilano reservoir.
• A net reduction in operating costs for the drinking water system (given the revenue from the proposed hydropower projects).
• Significantly improved flows for angling, kayaking and canoeing in the lower Capilano River below Cleveland dam.
