Environmental Issues

Environmental Issues – Bowker Creek Watershed, and local flooding issues
On Dec 12, I attended a meeting of the CRD BCI (Capital Regional District Bowker Creek Initiative) Steering Committee, as the representative from Mount Tolmie. This group includes representatives from all community associations (including Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay) that border on the Bowker Creek and are part of the Bowker Creek Watershed, staff from the CRD and city Engineering departments and representatives from the Friends of Bowker Creek. Consultants were present to discuss the work they have been doing on updating the Bowker Creek Blueprint – A 100-year plan to restore the Bowker Creek Watershed. This I believe is important, as daylighting and restoring the Bowker Creek is a main objective and it will be interesting to learn what if any new options are being considered for the Mount Tolmie area.

If you are interested in environmental issues, I would be happy to send you a copy or a link to the updated version of the Bowker Creek Blueprint, once I have it.

At our December 3rd 2022 AGM we heard some comments about flooding concerns. This caught my attention, as over the past year or so, we have heard from developers and residents about local flooding issues. Accordingly, if you have experienced any flooding problems yourself or are aware of flooding areas, please let us know about it.

When I mentioned to the BCI steering group that I was concerned about existing and possible future flooding in the Mount Tolmie area, as developments continue to remove rain infiltration area by increasing impervious surface area, (against the warnings in the SVAP and LAP), there was an interest in getting more details on the extent and seriousness of any flooding problems that exit or are developing in our/your area. After all, we live in a watershed and we know the climate is changing, which is likely to mean more extreme weather events, including increased severity of both dry and wet seasons.