By installing robust culverts to manage the water flow from 700 hectares of land – including the commercial core and village neighbourhoods – the Beach Creek Estuary and Marine Spit initiative restored natural conditions to the creek outlet, enhanced fish access and reduced predation on salmon returning to spawn. Since the project’s completion, Coho salmon have been returning to spawn in the creek each year, thriving in their newly protected habitat.
Additionally, a marine spit was constructed to protect the Beach Creek Estuary and foreshore from extreme weather events and rising sea levels. During the king tide event in January 2022, while neighboring seawalls failed, the shoreline protected by the new spit remained intact.
The Town’s consulting engineers on the project, AtkinsRéalis, won the Natural Resource and Habitat category of the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies B.C. annual awards program.
