One of the volunteers who helped clean up the Gorge believes a new governance structure is needed if the work is to continue. John Roe played a leadership role when, along with friends, he formed the Veins of Life Watershed Society in 1995.
Working with the World Fisheries Trust, local interest groups and others, Roe and his team made an immediate impact.
Before they started, the upper reaches of the Gorge Waterway were heavily contaminated. Industrial chemicals, fuel leaks and high fecal-coliform counts made the water unsafe for swimming.
Herring counts were declining, and beds of native oysters 鈥� once the largest on the West Coast 鈥� had almost disappeared.
In a remarkable turnaround, all these trends were reversed. Today, the contamination levels are well within safe limits 鈥� more so than some local lakes. Herring are making a comeback, and the bed of the waterway above Craigflower Bridge is covered with oysters.
In short, everything that could be expected of volunteers has been achieved. The question now is how to go forward. Ironically, the Gorge cleanup might fall victim to its own success.
More expensive homes are springing up along the waterfront, trees are being felled to improve views 鈥攐ften illegally 鈥� and recreational use has soared. Residents are also building unlicensed docks. Left unattended, these developments could turn back the clock.
Then there is the problem of derelict craft and live-aboard vessels. The City of Victoria is preparing to remove problem boats from its portion of the Gorge. However, there鈥檚 a good chance this will simply force their owners farther up the inlet.
And that highlights an underlying issue. In all, 19 different agencies, federal, provincial and municipal, oversee the Gorge. This is a hopelessly muddled governance model.
Four municipalities 鈥� Victoria, Saanich, Esquimalt and View Royal 鈥� have a say. Mandate-wise, they are best equipped to manage the waterway. But they鈥檝e given this task neither the co-operation nor the priority it needs.
The Capital Regional District attempts to co-ordinate activities, but lacks the power to impose its vision.
Roe and others would like to see the creation of a watershed management authority, with regulatory control over the Gorge and the various streams and creeks that feed into it.
A precedent exists. Water use in the Okanagan basin is overseen by a local management board. That body, established by provincial legislation, has the authority to identify and resolve issues in the local watershed.
The best argument for bringing this model to the Gorge is that it fits our local geography. Municipal boundaries wander all over the map. They bear no relationship to the area that must be managed.
A single watershed authority would also bring a focus that municipalities, burdened with problems such as the new wastewater system, will never have.
The CRD might be best placed to take on this responsibility, though a free-standing agency would also make sense.
Left to themselves, would our local politicians agree to such a transfer of power? Perhaps not readily. But here Roe and his friends have a compelling argument.
The contribution they made as volunteers exhausted them. Indeed, it did worse than that. When the Veins of Life society disbanded, a $20,000 debt was left owing.
Unfairly, Roe and his family got stuck with the bill, which they are still paying off. Our local politicians owe them payment in full.
But they owe more. The original cleanup transformed the Gorge from the most polluted waterway on sa国际传媒鈥檚 West Coast to one of the cleanest.
It would be a tragedy if all that effort were negated by official neglect and fragmented decision-making. We need a single-purpose authority to carry on the good work.
