Work has begun on an approximately $5.9-million project to restore watercourses along the Chemainus River that were hard hit by the atmospheric river event that struck the region in November, 2021.
The province plans to complete six bend-way weirs, in partnership with Halalt First Nation, to stabilize the right bank of the Chemainus River directly downstream of the Chemainus River bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway, with the work expected to be completed this fall.
The work, which has been contracted to Stone Pacific, is taking place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.
The province’s Flood Debris Management Secretariat is asking that people not swim in a 100-metre vicinity of the work crews while the weirs are being constructed and to respect and abide by all signs that are in place.
Traffic controls will also be in place on Chemainus Road until the project is completed.
The work is the last phase of several projects the province has undertaken since the atmospheric river event that caused the salmon-bearing Chemainus River to overflow its banks and saw large accumulations of sediment deposited along the banks of the river.
The flooding at the time impacted homes, farms and businesses around the TCH, as well as on the Halalt First Nation and Penelakut Tribe lands further downstream.
The work already completed includes sediment removal on the left side channel downstream of the Chemainus River bridge that was finished in the fall of 2022, and sediment removal upstream of the E&N bridge and the construction of a one-kilometre long flood barrier that were both completed in the fall of 2023.
Dealing with the increasingly frequent flooding on the Chemainus River, largely attributed to climate change, has been a hot topic in recent years at local government board and council meetings.
In June, North Cowichan’s CAO Ted Swabey told council that there are no easy solutions to dealing with flooding issues along the river.
He said there’s no strategy for the overall health of the river, and how the upper reaches of the watershed are managed is key to dealing with the issues.
It has long been alleged that logging and other industries further up the Chemainus River are contributing to the build up of sediments and logs in the waterway’s lower reaches that cause much of the flooding during heavy-rain events.
“Just to go in and remove the debris is like playing whack-a-mole, which may have some benefits, but until you actually deal with the root cause of why we’re getting the debris, it just comes back,” Swabey said at the time.
