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| May 15, 2006 |
Good times at the Bowker Creek
Clean Up & Rubber Ducky Race
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The 9th Annual Bowker Creek Clean
Up and Rubber Ducky Race was held on Saturday May 13, 2006. The event is
led by the Oak Bay High Environment Club and is part of the Bowker Creek
watershed renewal initiative, a partnership between UVic, the Friends of
Bowker Creek, the Capital Regional District (CRD), and the districts of
Saanich, Victoria and Oak Bay. Volunteers spend the morning pulling out
shopping carts, garbage, plastic bags and any other litter that is tossed
into the creek, and then celebrated with a rubber duck race which raised
funds for watershed renewal projects. Event pictures can be viewed
here. Get ready next year's for the10th anniversary! |
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| March 13, 2006 |
Bowker Creek Watershed Model Completed
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Oak Bay High School Visions Environmental
Club has recently completed a working model of the Bowker Watershed. Congratulations
to the Students, teacher-sponsor David Lock and Angus Stewart (StreamTeam)
for making this happen. This interactive watershed model will be used as
an educational tool to show how the Bowker Watershed functions and how urbanization
can impact both the quality and quantity of rainwater runoff. Visit back
to this site to find out which community event you can find the model at. |
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| March 1, 2006 |
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The Bowker
Creek Annual Report (pdf 800kb) highlights the
successes achieved in 2005. Major activates include the initiation of the
Bowker Creek Master Drainage Plan, restoration projects, securing funding,
planning and outreach activate such as the Bowker Creek Rubber Ducky Race,
presentations, demonstrations and installation of four interpretive signs.
The report also identities what the Bowker Creek Initiative will be doing
next to achieve the goals of the Bowker
Creek Watershed Management Plan (pdf 2.7mb). |
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| October 16, 2005 |
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| By Lehna Malmkvist |
The Bowker Creek Initiative teamed up with the CRD Engineering
Department to improve a 45-metre section of Bowker Creek. The project
was part of the creek’s Northeast Trunk Sewer Upgrade at St. Patrick’s
Elementary School.
Before the restoration, this section of the creek was bordered
by eroding banks covered in grass and willows. The banks were so compromised
that they were falling into the creek; this meant ...CONTINUED...
Original article printed in the CRD's Stormwater
News issue 07, Jan 2006. (pdf 640kb)
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| August 4, 2005 |
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March 2006 Update: Trent Street Pump Station - Visit the CRD's sewer
projects page for information on this facility. It will be located
beside Bowker Creek, near St Patrick's Elementary School
During rain storms, flow in sections of the sewer exceed the pipe's capacity,
resulting in overflows to Bowker Creek and Oak Bay Beach. The CRD is resolving
this problem by constructing a new "relief" sewer to replace
the structurally defective sections of the existing sewer and to increase
overall system capacity. These upgrades are necessary to prevent wastewater
overflows and to protect human health and the environment.
The construction of the Bowker relief sewer provides an opportunity to
construct a segment of the Bowker Creek Greenway through the former Richmond
Elementary School property connecting the City of Victoria to Saanich.
The intent is for a multi-use path that gently meanders alongside Bowker
Creek.
For more information download an Info Sheet here
(pdf 7.63mb) or visit the CRD's
Infrastructure Upgrading webpage
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Crossing Bowker Creek by St. Patrick's School
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| July, 19, 2005 |
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A Bowker Creek article can be found
on page two of the latest issue of Stormwater
News. The article "Bowker Creek: A Watershed in Transition"
discusses some of the progress made since the launch of the Bowker Creek
Urban Watershed Renewal Initiative and highlights current watershed activities.
The issue also discusses the benefits of using pervious concrete and how
new stormwater management practices are helping to improve the health of
our local waterways. These articles and others can be downloaded here.
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| June 14, 2005 |
Rezoning Approved for Townhouse Development
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After much work with the local community
and municipal staff, the applicants have received rezoning approval for
2675 and 2697 Richmond Road. The Society would like to thank the applicants
for their consideration of Bowker Creek in their designs. This rezoning
approval is significant because as Councilor Pickup stated, "This portion
of Bowker Creek is a critical piece in moving forward with the Centennial
Trails Greenway Plan and the future restoration of Bowker Creek." Some
highlights of the development include stormwater management planning, native
plant landscaping and a park dedication along Bowker Creek. Such features
help move us closer towards achieving the goals and objectives of the Bowker
Creek Watershed Management Plan.
It is our hope that the Bowker Creek Greenway will be able to run alongside
the creek through the new park dedication. For more information download
the June 14, 2005 Public Hearing minutes found here
(pdf 55kb). |
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| March 16, 2005 |
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By Michelle Martin
Saanich News |
Peer down from the sidewalk on Richmond Road, and Bowker Creek doesn't
look like much more than a trickling stream surrounded by steep banks
and sheltered from the daylight by a canopy of green. But this small creek,
littered with beer cans and cigarette butts, has recently become a huge
issue for property developers. A Bowker Creek watershed management plan
was developed under the sponsorship of the Capital Region District in
2003 by a forum that included landowners, environmental organizations,
government officials and regulatory agencies....CONTINUED...
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| Jan 30, 2005 |
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| By Norman Gidney |
Up close, it looks like a big slab of Rice Krispies squares, curving
between the trees at the edge of a small subdivision in Saanich. This
version is made of grey concrete and it's the latest word in sidewalks.
This trial strip built last fall could be the first of many to come in
Greater Victoria. It's an example of a new movement in handling rainwater
runoff, a different way of municipal engineering that tries to mimic nature
instead of hurrying the water into gutters, ditches and culverts.....CONTINUED....
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| Jan 6, 2005 |
Water Level Sensor Installed
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The Capital Regional District has
recently installed a level sensor near the Fort Street and Foul Bay Road
intersection. The Friends of Bowker Creek Society support the installation
of this equipment because the water level data it collects is fundamental
to understanding the creek's unique hydrology and will be used in the development
of a Master Drainage Plan. The level sensor data supports the goal of managing
flows effectively and will benefit restoration projects, stormwater management
and land use planning.
A level sensor basically works by sending an ultrasonic wave down from the
top of the box-culvert to the water level and it measures the length of
time it takes for the wave to return back to the sensor. An accurate water
level is then determined by converting the time to distance. The sensor
is programed into the Capital Regional District's Supervisory Control and
Data Acquisition (SCADA) system so that Bowker Creek's water level can be
monitored in real-time and data stored for analysis.
Volunteers from the Friends of Bowker Creek Society are currently measuring
the creek's velocity at various depths. The velocity information and water
level data will then be converted to discharge values. During heavy rain
events in January volunteers measured flow velocities of faster than 2 meters
a second. |
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| August 14, 2005 |
Bowker Creek Brush Up
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Come out to see an outdoor art gallery,
Oak Bay's new interpretive sign, art demonstrations and Bowker Creek Watershed
displays. The art and education will be found along Bowker Creek between
Hampshire Street and Oak Bay High from 1:00 to 5:00pm. See you there! |
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| May 14, 2005 |
Bowker Creek Clean-up and Rubber
Ducky Race
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Hosted by the Oak Bay Rotary Club,
Oak Bay High's Visions Environmental and Interact Clubs, Friends of Bowker
Creek Society and the Bowker Creek Initiative, the event brought out a team
of thirty people to help clean up the creek. Following the clean-up, Mayor
Causton unveiled the Oak Bay Bowker Creek sign and launched the rubber duck
race. About $1000 was raised for Bowker Creek stewardship activities. For
more information download the event poster here.
Pictures from the 2004 duck race can be viewed here. |
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| May 29, 2004 |
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The Greater Victoria school district
has found a temporary tenant for soon-to-be-closed Richmond elementary.
The district will lease the building to the Francophone Education Authority
of B.C. for 18 months, beginning this July. The Richmond School property
is an important piece of land for the creation of a Bowker Creek Greenway
as Bowker Creek flows through the site (view
map). A trail along this stretch supports our vision for Bowker Creek
and would be a vital step towards achieving Objective 3C in the Bowker
Creek Watershed Management Plan. More information on this potential
Greenway can be found here
(pdf 365K). The article on the rental of the Richmond School property can
be found here.
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| May 2nd, 2004 |
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The May 1st Bowker Creek clean up
managed to remove 2 truck loads of garbage from the creek. A big thank you
to all those who participated in the clean up. The Rubber Ducky race was
a fun event that raised funds for local community projects. Click here
to see pictures from this event. |
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| Dec 03, 2003 |
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Bowker Creek hasn't supported a salmon population for nearly 70 years,
but fortune may be smiling on Oak Bay's only fresh waterway after the
discovery of a large adult male coho salmon. It was a large fish, measuring
approximately 66 centimeters (26 inches) in length and probably tipping
the scales at over 11 kilograms (25 lbs). Its body was swollen and red
for the spawning season.......CONTINUED......
Article and pictures courtesy of David Lennam from Oak Bay News
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| Nov 17, 2003 |
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The Friends of Bowker Creek applauds
Saanich for supporting the vision of a Bowker Creek trail. This outdoor
recreational amenity would help connect neighbourhoods by providing an alternative
transportation route. Congratulations goes out to Saanich for endorsing
this visionary document and for approving in principle the overall funding
concept. This decision supports Objective 3C in the Bowker
Creek Watershed Management Plan (pdf 2.74MB) and is a vital step towards
reducing automobile dependency in the watershed. Councilor Gillespie stated:
"This is a very important project
to celebrate; health and exercise is a very important aspect of everyone's
lives......CONTINUED...... |
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| Aug 11, 2003 |
The Bowker Creek Watershed Management
Plan receives government endorsement
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The Councils of the District of Saanich, the District of Oak
Bay, the City of Victoria and the CRD Board have all voted to adopt, in
principle, the Bowker
Creek Watershed Management Plan (pdf 2.74MB). The Friends of Bowker
Creek Society would like to thank those who came out to show their support
for the plan. This document provides the framework required to help improve
the health and quality of the communities we live in. If you are interested
in helping us achieve our goals, please contact
us. |
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