As drought conditions persist throughout the region, Woolwich Township is still in better shape than other areas of the watershed fed by the Grand River.
According to recent information from the Grand River Conservation Authority, the Woolwich reservoir is below normal, with levels still dropping and the Conestogo River near St. Jacobs experiencing lower flows.
As water levels in reservoirs monitored by the GRCA continue to drop, restrictions on water usage still varies by geographical area. The Grand River watershed provides the water supply for Waterloo Region, Dufferin, Perth and Haldimand counties and Halton Region. Though levels in the township are not the worst of recent statistics released by the GRCA, local areas will still be affected by possible future plans to reduce water usage in the entire watershed.
Members of the Low Water Response Team became aware of persisting deteriorating conditions in the Grand River watershed in late July and were mulling over plans to increase water use restrictions due anticipation of rainfall last week. The committee consisting mostly of major water users including municipalities, farmers, gravel pit businesses and Six Nations, met again on Wednesday to discuss putting the entire Grand River Watershed under a level two advisory, which would mean a voluntary reduction of water use by 20 per cent for everyone on Municipal water supplies.
“I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen with the rain we got over the weekend. I can’t say for sure that’s going to happen,” said GRCA communications coordinator Cam Linwood on Tuesday, adding that the committee would release an update following the meeting.
The result of last week’s meeting is causing the GRCA to make good on an earlier public notice to adjust the amount of released from its reservoirs to ensure that there is enough water should dry weather continue into late summer and fall months.
“We have to hit certain levels, or flow targets in the river and those flow targets are set to create optimal conditions within the river. Because there is much less water this year we’ve had to reduce those targets a little bit, and that will allow us to put out less water potentially depending on [its] availability,” Linwood explained.
Not everyone is heeding the organizations advice to conserve water. Properties on municipal water supplies are covered by outdoor water use bylaws and therefore must adhere to certain restrictions. Property owners using private reserves on their own properties however, such as ponds and wells, are not subject to these limits and Municipal water managers have been hearing complaints about owners with private water supplies watering their lawns and ignoring restrictions.
Linwood said owners of private water sources may not be aware that their water supplies come from the same reserves as municipal water and though they are not subject to restrictions by law, they are still depleting the same regional groundwater sources.
“We just want to make sure that people are aware that even though they are not on a municipal water service they should still be cognizant of conserving water.”
