Some residents may have noticed an excavator in Mark Creek this week, above the flume and the bridge on Wallinger Avenue.
City CAO Scott Sommerville explained that as part of the City’s regular maintenance of the creek, every three years or so an excavator is used to dredge the gravel in that particular area.
“Over time the gravel washes down the creek and ends up in the holding pond,” Sommerville explained. “The dredging is done in a window that has the least impact on the fish and when water levels are low, which is very important.”
He adds that the City has to have permits in place in order to carry out this work, which are part of Section 9 of the Water Act.
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“The fish like small gravel [for spawning], so anything big is taken out and done so with the fish in mind,” said Sommerville.
He cited the Mark Creek Flume Flood Management and Stream Rehabilitation Project that the City completed in 2016, saying that this maintenance is an ongoing part of that project.
“It needs to be done,” he said. “I recall a time not too long ago, about six years ago, when that creek used to run orange and acidic. Your kids couldn’t play in there and you wouldn’t want your dogs to play in there. It’s one of the things I’m most proud of that the City has done.”
In November of 2017, Brian LaCas, Evan Skyes and Kimberley’s Cori Barraclough won the Environmental Award from the Engineers and Geologists BC for their design and oversight of the project.
“I think this is one of the first examples of a concrete channel being replaced by a naturalized system, certainly in BC and possibly even in Canada,” said Barraclough at the time. “I grew up in Kimberley and as a kid the creek used to run orange with acid rock drainage from the mine. For us now to be able to naturalize that system, protect the community and restore the habitat at the same time is a really good feeling.”
corey.bullock@kimberleybulletin.com
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