BC Hydro has issued a public safety advisory to use caution around the Puntledge River through Friday, April 18th.

Wednesday night, crews increased spill from Comox Dam from about 36 cubic metres per second (m3/s) to about 50 m3/s.

Temporary caution safety signage has been placed along the river system.

BC Hydro Spokesperson Karla Louwers says they have a long-term water supply forecast that runs from February to September to help guide water storage and our operations.

Updated monthly, the forecasts help with water management decisions for various water-use interests such as fish habitat, domestic water, recreation and power generation.

Louwers says this month’s water supply forecast for the February to September period is for watershed inflows to be about 97% of normal.

As of Wednesday, the Comox Lake Reservoir was 134.6 metres above sea level and within normal range for this time of year.

Inflows are expected to remain above normal through the weekend and return to near normal next week.

Water begins to free spill over the Comox Dam at 135.33 metres.