Disappearing Snowpack Means Dropping Water Levels

ASAP intake up and running; trail access limited

With the advent of the hottest days of summer, the snow pack has finally melted away above the Village. This week, Public Works has announced that supplemental water is being diverted from Alberta Creek for use by local residents, made possible by the successful installation of the Alberta Supply Augmentation Project (ASAP) last year.

With ASAP, as many as 300,000 litres of water per day can be made available to supplement the usual water supplies from Magnesia and Harvey Creeks.

The operating permit for the ASAP system requires the closure of trail access that goes past the Alberta Creek water intake. According to Public Works Director of Operations Karl Buhr, this means hikers will be unable to access the local trail near the top of Upper Bayview until the system is shut down again, sometime in mid-October.

The combination of the increased water availability from the new ASAP system and lower demand than in former years due to both the repair of many leaks around the system and increased user awareness, means that water conservation levels are holding steady.

As of August 6, the Village remains at Level 1 water conservation. Last year at this time a late-July rainfall allowed water to remain at Level 1 restrictions through the August long weekend, but in 2023 even the Level 2 restrictions were at risk, with the water situation deemed 'approaching critical."

Water restriction updates are made available weekly in the Village Update, or can be accessed on the Village website HERE.

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