Executive Summary:
Water is vital for life, necessitating efforts to understand, protect, and restore aquatic habitats in British Columbia. The Raincoast Healthy Waters program, initiated in 2023, focuses on community-driven water pollution monitoring in targeted watersheds, conducting biannual sampling events in both dry and wet seasons.
The report details the first winter season sampling, conducted on December 11, 2023, with the Halalt First Nation’s involvement. Basic water properties (temperature, pH, etc.) were measured across five categories: source water, stream and river water, road runoff, tap water, and marine water. Overall, the Chemainus River watershed exhibited relatively good water quality during this season, though road runoff showed notable contamination, primarily due to nutrients and hazardous substances.
The watershed, encompassing 356 km², flows east from the Vancouver Island Ranges and serves the Halalt, Penelakut, and Lyackson First Nations. While additional data collection is necessary, early results indicate road runoff and marine water as the most polluted categories, pointing to potential contamination from human activities.
The Healthy Waters program aims to empower communities with knowledge about their water quality, enabling advocacy for pollution prevention and enhanced water protection measures for the benefit of ecosystems and local populations.
