Joint Water Use Plan

Joint Water Use Plan for the Capilano and Seymour Water Supply Areas

A water use plan, when authorized through the provincial Water Sustainability Act, defines the operating parameters to be imposed on specific works or water control facilities. The Joint Water Use Plan (JWUP) was developed for the Capilano and Seymour systems for Metro Vancouver's operations of the Cleveland (Capilano) and Seymour Falls Dams. Key water management objectives for these systems are the protection of drinking water supply, fish and aquatic habitat, flood control, First Nations reconciliation, and power generation.

Developing the Joint Water Use Plan

The development of the JWUP began in 2010 and included a consultative committee that obtained input from stakeholders such as GVWD member jurisdictions, First Nations, government agencies, technical experts and interested community groups. The mandate of the consultative committee was to identify and explore water use objectives and alternatives to current operating practices and collaboratively develop recommendations for consideration by Metro Vancouver when preparing the JWUP.

JWUP Consultative Committee Summary Reports:

Joint Water Use Plan Approval

Following a rigorous consultation and referral process, the Province of British Columbia approved the JWUP in January 2018.

Capilano and Seymour Reservoirs

The Capilano and Seymour Reservoirs are two of the three primary sources of drinking water supply in Metro Vancouver. Together, these systems supply approximately 70 per cent of the region's drinking water, while Coquitlam Lake, under BC Hydro's Coquitlam – Buntzen Water Use Plan, supplies the remainder. The Cleveland Dam, forming the Capilano Reservoir, was constructed in the mid-1950s, and the Seymour Falls Dam was constructed in the mid-1960s. Seismic upgrades have subsequently been completed at both facilities. Impacts to the fisheries resource have been identified at both dam facilities, including fish habitat connectivity, reduced summer flow regimes and mechanized river level changes downstream of the dams (i.e. ramping).

Water supply

Metro Vancouver provides high-quality drinking water to 2.8 million residents and businesses in the region, and the Seymour and Capilano water supply areas account for two-thirds of this water supply.

The Capilano Water Supply Area is 19,535 hectares (195 square kilometres) and is the most western of Metro Vancouver's water supply areas. The Cleveland Dam is located on the Capilano River; it is a concrete dam that was built in 1954 and seismically upgraded in 1992. The Capilano Water Supply Area also includes Palisade Lake, which provides an additional 9.8 billion litres of available storage.

The Seymour Water Supply Area is 12,375 hectares (124 square kilometres). The Seymour Falls Dam was built in 1961 to replace a dam that was built in 1927. The 1961 dam was seismically upgraded in the early 2000s and completed in 2007. Also within the Seymour Water Supply Area are Burwell and Loch Lomond Lakes providing 12.5 billion and 7 billion litres of storage, respectively.

Joint Water Use Plan benefits

Current facilities monitoring

The JWUP required three 'current facilities' monitoring studies to monitor fish stranding downstream of both of the dams and review Metro Vancouver's Fish Trap and Truck program.

The Plan also requires operating records to be maintained and reported back to the Province annually:

Contact

Information Centre

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