Water

There are ongoing water issues on Denman Island. The 67 households in the Graham Lake water district have been under a long-term boil water advisory.

Many households in and out of the Graham Lake district need to have water delivered. A total of five companies are known to sell water in bulk on the island but the amount is unknown.1

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Annual Rainfall (1906 - 1996)2

All three weather stations on Denman Island were closed in 1996. Weather information is now collected at the Comox Valley Air Base.
The majority of houses on Hornby are served by privately drilled wells. Well quality can vary widely, depending on the quality and/or quantity of the water as it changes throughout the seasons. Water delivery is not only required in the summer, but many need to buy water during the rainy season as well. The annual water sales are unknown, but anecdotal reports state that the deliveries are starting earlier and running later.

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Local Rainfall (Shinglespit Area)3

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Annual Rainfall (1906 - 1970)2

The weather station on Hornby was closed in 1970. Weather information is now collected at the Comox Valley Air Base.

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Annual Cistern Sales (gal)4

This number is from cistern sales from one provider and does not include private purchases or other providers.

Wells

5

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Government Monitor Well Levels (m)6

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Government Monitor Well Levels (m)7

Aquifers

There are 2 aquifers under Denman Island. Both are listed as moderately vulnerable to contamination from surface water. Within these aquifers there are 725 smaller areas with varying degrees of vulnerability to saltwater intrusion. 8

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Areas Vulnerable to Saltwater Intrusion

  • Level 1 Low
  • Level 2 Moderately Low
  • Level 3 Moderate
  • Level 4 Moderately High
  • Level 5 High
There are 4 aquifers under Hornby Island. All 4 are listed as moderately vulnerable to contamination from surface water. Within these aquifers, there are 355 smaller areas with varying degrees of vulnerability to saltwater intrusion. 8

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Areas Vulnerable to Saltwater Intrusion

  • Level 1 Low
  • Level 2 Moderately Low
  • Level 3 Moderate
  • Level 4 Moderately High
  • Level 5 High

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  1. Local Knowledge ↩︎
  2. Station Data. 2023. Climate Data. https://climatedata.ca/download/#station-download ↩︎
  3. Local rainwater collection. 2016-2022. Local Source.  ↩︎
  4. Local Cistern Sales. 2023. Local Source ↩︎
  5. Groundwater Wells. 2022. BC Data Catalogue. https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/groundwater-wells ↩︎
  6. Observation Well 268. (2023). BC Groundwater Wells. Retrieved from https://aqrt.nrs.gov.bc.ca/Data/DataSet/Summary/Location/OW268/DataSet/Bvolt/Telemetry/Interval/Latest  ↩︎
  7. Observation Well 288. (2023). BC Groundwater Wells. Retrieved from https://aqrt.nrs.gov.bc.ca/Data/DataSet/Summary/Location/OW288/DataSet/SGWL/Working/Interval/Latest ↩︎
  8. Aquifer Vulnerability to Sea Water Intrusion. (2022). BC Open Data. Retrieved from https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/aquifer-vulnerability-to-sea-water-intrusion ↩︎