BC Hydro Public Warning System Tests Taking Place Next Week

BC Hydro is getting set for its annual public warning system tests that will take place Tuesday to Thursday next week (May 14th to May 16th).

Temporary signage  advising of the siren tests will be placed along the river system.

Crews will manually test each siren on Tuesday, and each may engage for a few minutes. If any adjustments or repairs are needed, they will be made on Wednesday.

The full siren system test will take place on Thursday, May 16th, which will include releasing a pulse of water from Comox Dam to trigger the warning system.

This test is also a reminder of potential hazards along the Puntledge River.

The sirens and strobe lights are placed along the Puntledge River from the Comox Dam to Puntledge Park to warn of river flow increases.

Permanent river safety signage is in place to advise what the siren sound means, and when heard, to move out of the river channel.

BC Hydro says the Puntledge River is part of a hydroelectric system where river flows may change quickly, whether planned or unplanned.

About 500 people may be along the Puntledge River system at any given time on a summer day, and the utility notes that it takes only 15 to 30 centimetres of fast flowing water to knock a person off their feet.

The Puntledge River hydroelectric system includes the Comox Dam, where the water released travels 3.7 kilometres down to the Puntledge River Diversion Dam.

From there, a minimum fish habitat flow is provided down the river with the majority of water directed down a 5-kilometre penstock to the generating station.