Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
A collaboration between climate scientists and Salt Spring’s largest water utility is yielding data — and a plan to improve both forest health and drinking water security for the island. Trustees of the North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) heard an update from Transition Salt Spring’s Climate Adaptation Research Lab (CARL) scientist Ruth Waldick at their monthly meeting Thursday, Feb. 23, covering information collected upon — and current plans for — the Maxwell Lake Watershed.
Researchers on B.C.'s Salt Spring Island are working on a plan to protect an important freshwater reserve as risks mount amid a growing climate emergency. Maxwell Lake provides water for about half of Salt Spring Island, just off the east coast of Vancouver Island. Ecologists say agriculture and forestry in the area over the past century have left the forest overgrown, blocking out light and limiting the growth of understory, the low layer of vegetation in the forest that helps absorb water.
After this summer's unprecedented heat wave across B.C., authorities in the Gulf Islands say the season's drought is one of the worst they've experienced in recent memory. "This is yet another year where we have a lot of concerns," said Peter Luckham, chair of the Islands Trust Council. He said he's noticed very low groundwater levels for this time of year on Thetis Island, where he lives.
