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.
For only the second time on record, huge pumps have been set up in Upper Quinsam Lake west of Campbell River to ensure there is enough water in the region’s waterways to allow salmon to spawn and to protect new spawning beds at risk because of the ongoing drought. Pumps started working Friday to send water through several hundred metres of pipes into neighbouring Wokas Lake to maintain the current river flow rate. The lakes are connected by a channel.
It’s the time of year when salmon are returning to freshwater to spawn, but across the Island, fish are holding out in the ocean, waiting for the seasonal rise in creek levels to take hold and allow them to complete their life cycle. On average, Victoria sees about 88 millimetres of rain in October; so far there has been none with no precipitation in the forecast for the next week. In fact, it’s been weeks since the Island had any sizable amount of rain at all. Greater Victoria alone has only had 2mm since July 8, and water levels are falling across the region.
