A potential agreement is taking shape that would allow much more water than is currently licensed to flow into the main Comox Valley water supply system.
The breakthrough comes after years of concern over limits on supplies needed to serve 40,000 people in the Valley — including the whole of the Courtenay and Comox municipalities — as well as potential future development.
B.C. Hydro, which holds the master licence managing all water from Comox Lake and the Puntledge River, is offering to increase the volume it will allow Comox Valley Regional District to extract by more than 50 per cent.
A proposed new cap of 14.1 million cubic metres a year is a massive 5 million more than the present allowable take of 9.1 million, and should solve supply issues for some years to come, apart from in very dry summers.
The power company will need to be compensated for allowing extra water to be extracted, as it will lose income from electricity sales because less water will be flowing through the turbines at its Puntledge generating station.
But it is ready to agree to charge only for whatever volume of water is actually needed, not a flat rate based on the maximum allowed.
The terms and wording of the potential agreement are currently being drafted and will be forwarded by B.C. Hydro to the regional district in January.
B.C. Hydro spokesperson Stephen Watson confirmed tentative terms had been discussed with CVRD staff although there is likely to be some to-and-fro discussions on the detail before a deal can be sealed.
"But we have agreed in principle," he said. "We could have said 'no', but we operate in a community and we want to be a good partner in that community.
"What we are working on is a modification of the existing agreement with terms that are fair to both sides. It makes sense and it's all good."
As the master water licence holder, B.C. Hydro uses the lion's share of the water flowing down the Puntledge for power generation — about 82 per cent of the extracted flow is diverted through its electricity generating plant, although it all goes back in to the river downstream.
It is responsible for ensuring another 17 per cent is available for 'conservation flows' to ensure good management of the river's fish habitat, including both minimum and fast flows depending on the need (the latter also enjoyed by kayakers).
That means barely one per cent of the licensed water is actually consumed — removed from the Puntledge for good, rather than being put back.
The regional district already pays for that water at a bulk rate agreed with B.C. Hydro, with residential and business customers connected to the supply system getting charged for it once it has been treated as part of their utility bills.
The way the full 100 per cent licensed allocation is divided up has long been a bone of contention for some local politicians and residents, especially those opposed to further water metering.
They argue the figures demonstrate there is really plenty of water available, and the idea of spending millions on installing more meters or pursuing other conservation measures is a waste of money.
While it's true there is plenty available for most of the year, as the Comox Lake reservoir is frequently replenished from rain or snow melt, that's not usually the case in the summer months.
On a number of occasions in the past decade, the licensed allocation for the Comox Valley water system has been reached or exceeded, despite the powering down of the generating station during dry spells to ensure sufficient water is reserved for homes and businesses.
And the provincial government is far from impressed at the argument that no further conservation is necessary, recently reiterating that it advocates for universal water metering, coupled with a consumption based pricing system and other conservation measures, as the "permanent solution" to water supply issues in the Comox Valley.
In the past, the government has also insisted on seeing progress towards more conservation by stressing future grants towards infrastructure like pipes and pumping stations might not be forthcoming if little or no progress is made to save more water.
But in September, the province wrote to water committee chair Tom Grant stating it might be willing to consider approving an "interim measure" involving what is called a Section 34 order, covering the transfer of some water intended for power generation to the regional district for the domestic water system.
That is what is now being negotiated. But even if B.C. Hydro and the CVRD agree terms and costs — which is likely — they won't have the final say.
The decision falls to the B.C. Comptroller of Water Rights, the independent provincial regulator of water licences whose job is to be sure all interests are properly considered.
But Watson is optimistic a deal can be reached that will satisfy the Comptroller, be financially acceptable to B.C. Hydro, and provide the CVRD with extra water as needed for the next five years.
It won't guarantee summer restrictions will end, as extended dry periods and low reservoir levels may still require curbs on usage, but it should resolve most supply issues for the short term at least.
