Hi all.
First let me re-introduce myself. I am a retired geotechnical engineer who came out of retirement to help manage this important project and I am pleased to be able to contribute. Born in Edmonton, but I grew up in Duncan and graduated from ‘Cow Hi’ many years ago. My wife and I have a house on Cowichan Lake since 1995 and understand the beauty and the opportunity such a privilege provides.
We have noticed the impact of climate change over the years with longer, hotter and dryer summers and how the river, and all that rely upon it, has had to endure extra low flows throughout many of the past summers. In 2023 the river suffered a catastrophic loss of an estimated 100,000 fish due to a combination of factors including low flows and high temperature. The long term health of the whole Cowichan River’s ecosystem is the main purpose of this project and continues to have the support to keep proceeding.
It’s been over two years since I provided any Project updates on this website. My role in the two aspects of the project (Weir Design and Shoreline Assessment – see links on this website) ended with those 2 projects in December of 2022. These were completed and have been helping to inform the next steps in the path forward to constructing a new weir.
Since 2022, many people have been working on what I would call the ‘softer’ aspects of the project. Those include funding, licensing, permitting, ownership and further government engagement. A ‘technical Working Group’ was been formed to work through these items with representatives from Cowichan Tribes, Cowichan Valley Regional District, Province of BC, and Domtar (formerly Paper Excellence), and the Cowichan Watershed Board (CWB). The CWB is playing a support, coordination and communications role, including bringing me back on board to help with that.
You can now reach us at email weir.here@cowichanwatershedboard.ca
In the months ahead we expect to see information gaps closed, decisions made and a water license application put forward. Through this website, I will be providing you with my updates. Stay tuned. You can also find all the previous studies and information that were on this website here.
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This is way outside of my area of knowledge to be able to respond. Our focus is building a new weir which we feel would provide the surest long term benefit to the health of the river.
While I was living in Calgary, the effluent was injected into farmland at the request of farmers. Can the effluent from Lake Cowichan be disposed of similarly. Even into forest floor ?
Hi Wayne,
Not sure what message you sent as all I can see is a link to an email (weir.here@cowichanwatershedboard.ca)
If you or your community would like a face to face update, we could figure something out.
Leroy.
Thanks for the comments. Operation of the weir has been set by the Province and you are correct that, in the past, the dates of operation and the flow rates (commonly referred to as the ‘rule curve’) were very rigid. The rule curve wasn’t an issue for the first 50 years of operations but lately it hasn’t worked as well as it could have considering climate change. Over the past several years an effort has been made to get certain organizations together, at the same table, to discuss weir operation and flow. This discussion includes how much snow pack is in the mountains, current lake levels and precipitation forecasts all with an eye to optimize spring and summer flows to maximize opportunity for the fish and the health of the river. While these efforts have not been perfect, there is good news in that the right people, with the best information, are now discussing this on a regular basis to make the best balanced decision. See description below of the Cowichan River fish kill – typical of any incident there are usually a number of factors involved.
Critical Waters: The Urgent Fight to Save Cowichan’s Fish by:Ashley van der Pouw Kraan
August 21, 2024
“Last year, below the town of Lake Cowichan sewage outfall, we had a massive algae bloom,” Tom added. “The sewage plant hadn’t necessarily made any mistakes; they were just operating as they always had. But the combination of a high level of nutrients in the effluent, warm water temperatures, lower flows, and UV exposure from sunlight caused algae to grow rapidly and robustly.”
This rapid algae growth created a devastating cycle. “Algae give off oxygen during the day but consume it at night. When the algae die, they suck even more oxygen out of the water. This wild fluctuation in oxygen levels, combined with algae-driven changes in acidity levels altered the ratio of ammonium to ammonia in the water. Ammonium is generally safe for fish at moderate levels, while ammonia can cause respiratory issues, damage to gills and eventually death,” Tom explained. “It’s what killed the fish last summer.”
Resending this as the weir.here@cowichawatershedboard.ca weir.here@cowichawatershedboard.ca email failed.
Thanks,
Wayne Friesen
Hello Leroy!
And welcome back. Glad to hear you’re still involved.
Your friendly note is much appreciated! Thanks for including me on the list of recipients.
WEIR still here too! A one-way note is an announcement; but adding a response makes a dialog! I’ll contribute a reply for your consideration as soon as possible.
As always, yours for community, diversity, and respect
Rick
A lot of fry kills could have been prevented if the operation of the weir had been under control of people knowing the state of the water-level of Cowichan Lake. Having a set date to close the flow of water through the lock was and is absurd. As soon as the excess water no longer flow OVER the weir, the lock gates should be closed. Thereafter let any excess water entering the lake flow over the weir. At least, when there is no more inflow, the lake- level will be full and not already a foot down as was the case a couple of years ago.