Ministry of FLNRO

Low Streamflow Advisories

Low Streamflow Advisory – Vancouver Island
Issued: June 22, 2015 4:00 PM

The River Forecast Centre is issuing a low streamflow advisory for:

  • Vancouver Island

Snow pack conditions on Vancouver Island were at historic lows this past winter. Vancouver Island experienced an early onset of warm, spring-like conditions in March and warm temperatures and dry conditions have continued from late April through to the present.

The combination of extreme low snow packs, below normal precipitation and warmer than average temperatures has led to seasonally-low to extreme-low conditions in streams of Vancouver Island. Most rivers across Vancouver Island are flowing at the 2nd to 5th percentile flows for this time of year (e.g., approximately 20-year to 50-year return period low flow). Current flows are more typical of late-August conditions, with many rivers approaching, or are below, average annual low flow level.

Current extreme-low streamflow conditions for unregulated streams of Vancouver Island:

  • Tofino Creek near the mouth (08HB086) is currently recording a water level of 0.824 m, which is below the recorded minimum water level for this period of time.
  • Browns River near Courtenay (08HB025) is currently flowing at 0.14 m3/s, which is 4% of the median flow (3rd percentile) and below the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.
  • Gold River below Ucona River (08HC001) is currently flowing at 5.85 m3/s, which is 10% of the median flow (2nd percentile) and below the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.
  • Koksilah River at Cowichan Station (08HA003) is currently flowing at 0.14 m3/s, which is 13% of the median flow (1st percentile) and below the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.

Current seasonally-low streamflow conditions for unregulated streams of Vancouver Island:

  • Tsolum River below Murex Creek (08HB089) is currently recording a flow of 0.32 m3/s, which is 25% of the median flow (2nd percentile) and equal to the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.
  • Oyster River below Woodhus Creek (08HD011) is currently recording a flow of 4.04 m3/s, which is 25% of the median flow (3rd percentile) and below the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.
  • San Juan River near Port Renfrew (08HA010) is currently flowing at 1.97 m3/s, which is 25% of the median flow (2nd percentile) and below the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.
  • Carnation Creek at the Mouth (08HB048) is currently flowing at 0.016 m3/s, which is 19% of the median flow (11th percentile) and just above the recorded minimum flow for the period of time.
  • Chemainus River near Westholme (08HA001) is currently flowing at 0.86 m3/s, which is 25% of the median flow (1st percentile) and just above the recorded minimum flow for the period of time.
  • Pugh Creek near Nahwitti Lake (08HF012) is currently flowing at 0.17 m3/s, which is above the recorded minimum flow for this period of time

Current streamflow conditions for regulated streams of Vancouver Island:

  • Englishman River (08HB048) is currently flowing at 1.23 m3/s, which is 29% of the median flow (2nd percentile) and above the recorded minimum flow for the period of time.
  • Cowichan River near Duncan (08HA011) is currently flowing at 5.88 m3/s, which is 57% of the median flow (11th percentile) and above the recorded minimum flow for the period of time.
  • Little Qualicum River near Qualicum Beach (08HB029) is currently flowing at 1.18 m3/s, which is 19% of the median flow (4th percentile) and below the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.
  • Sproat River near Alberni (08HB008) is currently flowing at 2.36 m3/s, which is 10% of the median flow (1st percentile) and below the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.
  • Quinsam River near Campbell River (08HD005) is currently flowing at 1.72 m3/s, which is 56% of the median flow (2nd percentile) and equal to the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.
  • Salmon River near Sayward (08HD006) is currently flowing at 5.05 m3/s, which is 12% of the median flow (2nd percentile) and below the recorded minimum flow for this period of time.

Environment Canada forecasts less than 10 mm rainfall on Vancouver Island over the next 10 days and continued warmer-than-normal temperatures. With little rain and continued warm weather, coupled with negligible remaining snow melt runoff, it is expected streams will continue to decrease through to early July.

The River Forecast Centre will continue to monitor conditions and will provide updates as conditions warrant. For streamflow conditions in other parts of the province, visit the RFC’s Low Streamflow Bulletins and Advisories webpage.

 

  ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Conditions noted in this advisory are based on provisional data from the Water Survey of Canada (WSC) that are subject to final quality-control per the WSC. In some instances, particularly at extreme low flow conditions, the rating curve at a WSC station may not be well-calibrated and may result in a variance between the reported provisional streamflow data and field-measured flow data.