Major leak in Comox Valley water system repaired, water restrictions eased

New lawn watering regulations may prevent children from running through sprinklers this summer.

The Comox Valley Regional District says repairs at its Black Creek-Oyster Bay water system are complete after a "major leak" was discovered in late July.

The leak was reported on July 20 and triggered heightened water restrictions for about 2,200 residents in the area.

On Friday, the regional district said the repair work was finished and residents could return to "stage 2" water restrictions, which were in place before the leak was discovered.

Stage 2 water restrictions include limiting when a person can water their lawn, and bars people from washing driveways, sidewalks or parking lots except for under specific circumstances. A full list of stage 2 water restrictions can be found on the CVRD website.

"Thank you to our incredible team for their dedication and hard work to locate the leak and have things fixed in just over three weeks," said Kris La Rose, CVRD senior manager of water/wastewater services in a statement Friday.

"Repairs like this can be very difficult to diagnose and repair but our group responded and handled the logistical challenges very well," he said.

La Rose also thanked residents for reducing their water usage while repairs were underway.

"That effort, combined with isolating the leak, made water consumption go down by half what it was during its peak two weeks ago," he said.