I decided to do a bit of research after driving by this location on Powerhouse Road and wondering if was at one time a water reservoir.
It was an above ground, open reservoir that held 500,000 gallons of water. The City use to stock it with trout to keep it free of bugs etc, and it was considered to be a great fishing hole. It’s since been decommissioned and replaced by a tower type water reservoir.
Now then – where did the water come from?
If you head down to the end of Powerline Road you’ll come to a gate, beyond which you’ll find one of the access roads to BC Hydro’s Puntledge Generation Station, and the power lines that the station feed.
You’ll also find this little building that was built in 1967 when the City of Courtenay took over operation of the water system that used a 12” concrete pipeline to distribute water from the Browns River.
The pipeline used to cross Morrison Creek, and empty into the reservoir
The old concrete pipeline is gone, but you can still see the concrete supports for it and newer water lines on it. One line feeds the residential area, and one did go to a storage tank at the same location as the above ground reservoir.
and now you know…