Over the last 20 years, Victoria鈥檚 Gorge Waterway has gone from being perhaps the most polluted urban waterway on the sa国际传媒 coast to the cleanest.
In the late 1980s, heavy metals, gasoline and industrial chemicals were leaching into the waterway from adjacent worksites and derelict boats. Pesticides and herbicides washed in from neighbouring gardens and parks.
And fecal coliform counts, associated with human and animal waste, were sometimes well above the maximum safe level. The upper reaches of the Gorge, which lie beyond the cleansing effect of ocean currents, were heavily contaminated.
It took a prolonged and intense effort by local authorities, volunteers and interest groups such as the World Fisheries Trust to turn the situation around.
But the results they have achieved are truly striking. Water quality now exceeds that of many freshwater lakes in the region. Fecal coliform counts are far below the danger level, in some cases approaching zero.
There is now an annual Gorge Swim Fest, reviving a tradition that stretches back 100 years. And attention is being turned to rebuilding marine life in the waterway, which, despite the progress, has a way to go.
Until recently, large shoals of herring arrived like clockwork every February. As long as the run was on, anglers jigging from Craigflower bridge reeled in bucket loads each day. Old timers recall catching 100 an hour.
We鈥檒l see what next month brings. But in recent times, herring numbers have plummeted.
And whereas the Gorge was once an important breeding ground for this species, there have been no reports of spawning for several years.
There are a number of mysteries here. If the herring aren鈥檛 breeding in the Gorge, why do they return at all?
And with water quality dramatically improved, why aren鈥檛 they spawning?
One obstacle is the continuing presence of creosote-treated wooden pilings in the Gorge. Studies have shown that creosote can be lethal to herring roe.
We hope that issue will soon be resolved. The new Craigflower bridge, due to be completed this summer, rests on concrete supports instead of wood. The new pilings have a special surface for roe to adhere to.
Efforts are also underway to expand the stock of Olympic oysters in the waterway. These are not the large Japanese type we see in fish stores, but rather a small cousin native to our waters.
The species is considered threatened, and the Gorge has traditionally held one of the largest stocks on the West Coast. When the old Craigflower bridge was demolished, young oysters clinging to the pilings were methodically removed and planted farther up the waterway. Time will tell if this project gets results.
But there are already some notable success stories. Over the last few years, there have been exceptional returns of coho salmon to Colquitz Creek. Even a recent spill of fuel oil into the creek doesn鈥檛 appear to have halted the recovery. And sea-run cutthroat trout numbers are likewise on the rise.
Considering the downward trend in salmon stocks along much of the West Coast, these results, accomplished in the centre of a city, are all the more remarkable.
What happens next is up to us. The Gorge is more than a small and fragile inlet. It is a measuring stick for the well-being of our ecology, and more broadly, our environmental stewardship. By restoring the waterway to health, we are making a statement of intent. We mean to leave things as the original inhabitants of our region found them.
鈥淲e,鈥� of course, means all of us. But in this instance, the real credit goes to a handful of volunteers who saw a shameful mess and resolved to clean it up.
The reclaimed Gorge Waterway is a testament to their hard work.
