CV watershed virtual forum to explore climate change, landscape restoration

CV watershed virtual forum to explore climate change, landscape restoration

View from Comox Lake out to the Strait of Georgia  |  Submitted photo

CV watershed virtual forum to explore climate change, landscape restoration

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The Comox Valley Land Trust, Cumberland Community Forest Society and Connected by Water are presenting a free 3-part event highlighting exciting projects and initiatives that are reconnecting ecology and hydrology in the built and natural environments of the Comox Valley.

This virtual seminar will take place October 21-23 and offers attendees from across sectors a unique opportunity to learn about the power of collaboration to mobilize and respond effectively to the impacts of climate change on the local landscape.

Wednesday October 21st at 7 pm – FREE Online Public Event:  Stitching Together Altered Landscapes: Conservation, Community and Resilience.

Over the past 150 years, the Comox Valley landscape has been transformed by logging, coal mining, agriculture, road building, industry, and development. These altered landscapes are where the local impacts of climate change – flooding, erosion, and loss of biodiversity – first become evident. But these altered landscapes also hold the greatest potential for building resiliency. Kus-Kus-Sum, The Courtenay Estuary, Morrison Headwaters, Perseverance Watershed, Comox Lake – these places are at the heart of our local climate story.

Join archeologist Jesse Morin, Comox Valley Land Trust ED Tim Ennis, Cumberland Community Forest Society ED Meaghan Cursons, and Project Watershed staff biologist Jennifer Sutherst for a visual exploration of local land use history and current day conservation in action from mountain top to ocean floor. Together, in partnership with local government, indigenous leadership, industry, and community, we are stitching together altered landscapes of the Comox Valley.

Thursday October 22 9-10:20 am: Water, Place and Reconciliation

What is the starting place for our work in water sustainability, landscape restoration, and facing the impacts of a changing climate? It starts with an understanding of the culture, land, water, and stories of the places where we do our work. Join us for this welcome to the territory of the K’ómoks First Nation and an introduction to the exciting projects underway that demonstrate our shared commitments.

Thursday October 22, 10:30-12 noon: Regional Collaboration toward Natural Asset Management

The Comox Valley has never witnessed the scale of cross sector and cross jurisdictional work toward watershed sustainability than we have in the past 5 years. At the forefront of these collaborations are the Watershed Advisory Group, the Comox Lake Municipal Natural Assets Initiatives and recent land protection actions in the Comox Lake Watershed. This session will explore the complexities and opportunities of this regional collaboration at work.

Friday October 23rd, 9-10:20 am: Engaging Community in Climate Strategies – Projects and Tactics

Local government leadership is making it clear that meaningful community engagement and climate change awareness are critical to all levels of community planning. What tactics make a real impact? How do we deepen interest and engagement to achieve success? From official community plan processes to sea rise response strategies – community engagement in climate adaptation is at the top of the agenda.

Friday October 23rd, 10:30-12: Connected by Water- Building a Legacy of Watershed Protection

Connected by Water is a program of the Comox Valley Regional District to build capacity, connection, and community in support of watershed protection. This project connects schools, parks, sporting events, campgrounds and the public to stories and actions that help support the health of our watershed. Learn more about the approaches, messages, and successes of this project and how it can be applied to our collective efforts to support a climate-resilient watershed in the Comox Valley.

Registration is now open for the 3 sessions taking place Wednesday evening, October 21st, and Thursday and Friday mornings, October 2nd and 23rd. Attendees are invited to attend individual sessions or all 3 days. Visit www.cvlandtrust.ca/2020-symposium/ for panelist bios and registration links.

 

 

 

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ABOUT THE FORUM SPONSORS

About Comox Valley Conservation Partnership (CVCP)
The CVCP was formed in 2008, after concern was raised that there was no regional plan in the Comox Valley to prioritize and protect sensitive ecosystems on private land. The CVCP brings together local community-based groups and other stakeholders to support their projects and provide a voice for the value of conservation in our natural areas.

About Cumberland Community Forest Society (CCFS)
CCFS is a grassroots community based charitable not-for-profit dedicated to land protection, restoration and biodiversity in the Cumberland Forest that borders the Village of Cumberland on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. This forest is part of a significant habitat and recreation corridor that connects the mountains of the Beaufort Range to the Salish Sea.

 

 

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No boil-water advisories in Cumberland

No boil-water advisories in Cumberland

Photo: A view of Allen Lake, in the Perseverance Creek watershed. Courtesy of the Village of Cumberland.

While Courtenay and Comox residents suffer through another boil-water advisory this week, clear and drinkable water flows freely in the Village of Cumberland.

For Cumberland Mayor Leslie Baird that fact alone justifies her council’s decision to not join the Courtenay-Comox water system. But she also likes to point out that the village will save millions of dollars for its taxpayers.

Because while those other Comox Valley elected officials search for the financing to build a $110 million water filtration plant, Cumberland has already received a $4.9 million grant to fund the $6 million first stage of its long-term water quality and supply system improvement plan.

Joining the Courtenay-Comox system would have cost Cumberland taxpayers $26.7 million upfront and annual operating costs of $600,000.

Bringing their own system up to current provincial standards will cost $6 million now (80 percent funded by the provincial Clean Water, Wastewater fund), another $6.5 million for further improvements through 2066, and annual operating costs of $255,000.

It was a clear-cut financial decision, Mayor Baird said, and it provides the village with water security for the next 50 years.

How the water system works

Cumberland Manager of Operations Rob Crisfield said the village’s water supply comes from five lakes in two separate watersheds — Allen Lake in the Perseverance Creek watershed, and Hamilton, Stevens and Henderson lakes and Pond. No. 2 in the Cumberland Creek watershed.

The five lakes in two watersheds that comprise the Cumberland water supply. The village has a license for future use of Vanwest Lakes.

A deep well drilled in Coal Creek Historic Park opened in 2013. It adds a groundwater supply to the watersheds’ surface water sources.

The system operates on nine water licenses, some issued as early as 1897, and serves Cumberland and everyone in the Royston water service area. The village owns all of the land around the lakes, but not all of the land in the watersheds.

That means the system is less susceptible to harmful logging practices in terms of the turbidity issue that plagues the Courtenay-Comox system. Cumberland has not issued any boil-water advisories.

However, some of the infrastructure in the hills above the village is more than 100 years old. While it’s been maintained well, many upgrades are necessary and underway.

Henderson Lake has the lowest elevation of the four lakes in the Cumberland Creek watershed, so its outflow makes the connection to the village’s water supply. It merges with a line from Allen Lake.

Where water lines from the two watersheds come together, the water is treated with chlorine. It then descends down to Cumberland via a single, one kilometer long 300 mm diameter pipe, before splitting again into two main trunk lines servicing different parts of the village.

What’s happening now

The village is installing a second “twinned” 300 mm pipe so it can regulate the flow from each watershed based on the amount of water stored in the lakes. That work should finish in mid-December.

Future work will include adding a new facility that will provides both UV and chlorine treatment. It will also switch from chlorine gas to sodium hypochlorite, which poses fewer risks for operators.

The village will also construct two new reservoirs to increase water storage capacity. One will go out to tender in the spring, along with the new UV treatment facility. The second reservoir will be built by the year 2040.

Sediment washing into Comox Lake through Perseverance Creek after a major rain event in 2014

Crisfield said the village will repair and replace some of its dams, most importantly the Pond No. 2 dam, which failed in December of 1972, causing a washout of the Henderson Lake dam. Both the Henderson dam and No. 2 dam were rebuilt in 1973, with a spillway out of Cumberland Creek watershed and into Perseverance Creek.

It was this spillway that undercut a kilometer-long 50-foot high bank during a major rain event in 2014. The ensuing slide washed sentiment, including clay particles, into Perseverance Creek and ultimately into Comox Lake, the source of drinking water for Courtenay and Comox. Following the slide, a the Comox Valley Regional District issued a boil-water advisory for Courtenay-Comox residents that lasted 49 days.

Crisfield said other dams will get either seismic stabilization, such as Stevens Lake did in 2014, or be completely rebuilt over time to meet the Canadian Dam Safety Guidelines in future years.

How residents benefit

When all the projects are completed, Cumberland and Royston will have a secure supply of water through 2066 that meets B.C. Drinking Water Guidelines. The more reliable and controllable system will reduce risks to human life, the water supply and the environment from a major earthquake.

The village was able to lift its moratorium on development in 2014 after opening the Coal Creek deep groundwater well.

It will surprise some that Cumberland is the fastest growing community in the Comox Valley. According to the 2016 Census statistics, the village grew by 5.6 percent to 3,600 residents. That beats Courtenay, Comox and all three regional districts, which each grew by 4.7 percent.

It’s even more surprising that during that same period of growth, Cumberland has reduced its demand for water by 41 percent, according to the June 2016 study by Koers & Associates Engineering Ltd. Cumberland residents used 49 percent less water and Royston residents used 17 percent less.

The lower water usage resulted from a new rate structure and the installation of water meters at all residential and commercial connections. People just naturally used less water. And the meters revealed many service leaks, which have been repaired.

Crisfield said once all these surface supply improvements are in place, Cumberland will have improved redundancy and reliability on water delivery, improved water quality and greater flexibility in how they can operate the supply system.

What’s next
  • The biggest challenge confronting Cumberland is how to rebuild the Pond No. 2 dam; specifically where to direct its spillway. If it goes toward Cumberland Creek, it could affect water quality in the village’s system. If it goes into Perseverance Creek, it could erode more sediment into Comox Lake. Crisfield hopes that a study underway by Tetra Tech consulting engineers, of Nanaimo, will find a solution to that problem.
  • Meanwhile, Crisfield is interested in the possibility of generating hydroelectricity by adding turbines into the system’s water lines. Due to the large elevation drop, there may be sufficient pressure to power the water treatment operations.