WELLINGTON COUNTY – Water users throughout the Grand River watershed are being asked to cut their consumption by 10 per cent, due to dry conditions as a result of low precipitation and high air temperatures this summer.
In a news release Friday, the Grand River Conservation Authority says low and variable rainfall since June has contributed to reduced stream flows in several tributaries throughout the watershed, and the GRCA is using its large upstream reservoirs to augment river flows to maintain low flow targets downstream.
“The call for the reduction came from the Grand River Low Water Response Team, which held a virtual meeting on Thursday, August 21. The team is made up of representatives of major water users including municipalities, farmers, golf course operators, aggregate businesses and others.”
The Low Water Response Team decided to place the entire watershed at Level 1 under the Ontario Low Water Response Program.
“Level 1 results in a request for a voluntary 10 per cent reduction in water consumption by all water users, including municipalities, aggregate operations, golf courses, water bottlers, farms for irrigation and private users. For watershed residents, the best immediate action is to follow their municipal outdoor water use bylaws, which limit watering to specific days and times,” the GRCA said in the release.
The GRCA’s large reservoirs are within their normal operating range for this time of year, except Conestogo Lake reservoir, which is being drawn down to accommodate concrete repair on the upstream side of the Conestogo Dam.
The GRCA is operating these reservoirs carefully to meet flow targets downstream, while keeping water in storage to continue to support flow augmentation.
More information on the Ontario Low Water Response Program is available on the GRCA website.
