Frequently Asked Questions
Question: How are future water supply needs determined?
Answer: Future water supply needs are based on population projections in area Official Community Plans and the policies established by the Regional Growth Strategy.Question: Why do we need a surface water supply system?
Answer: Community water systems in the bulk water service areas depend on groundwater. Sustainability of water supplies is a priority. It has been determined that groundwater sources cannot meet our goal of ensuring a reliable long-term, high-quality water supply. The Arrowsmith Water Service supplements area groundwater sources.Question: What impact can water conservation have on demand?
Answer: Water conservation measures can reduce demand significantly and extend the life of groundwater supplies. Conservation does not eliminate the need for a surface water supply system, but it can delay future phases of the system and therefore defer the need for borrowing and save everyone money in the long run.Question: How does the Arrowsmith Dam affect Arrowsmith Lake and the Englishman River?
Answer: The Arrowsmith Lake watershed is about 1.5 per cent of the Englishman River's 324-square-kilometre watershed. Arrowsmith Lake is an ideally situated water storage site-because of its steep rock sides, raising the level of the lake by 12 meters floods a relatively small area of only about 12 hectares or 25 acres. The dam allows the lake to be drained on a controlled basis to supplement low flow periods in the river.Question: How does the Dam affect fish?
Answer: Water is stored at Arrowsmith Lake during heavy fall and winter rainfalls and snowpack. This water supports domestic and fisheries uses, and benefits fish in the Englishman River by increasing the existing low summer flows. The water stored and released for fisheries purposes is over and above that released for domestic uses and creates better conditions for spawning, migration and other life cycle needs of fish.