The Squamish River Watershed Society (SRWS), in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Squamish Nation is currently implementing phase 1 of the Central Estuary Restoration Project. Phase 1 of the project is focused on upgrading an existing culvert to improve fish access between the Squamish River and the estuary, and active construction for this commenced in April 2019. 

Visitors to the site over the weekend may have notice that we haven't pulled the dam from the river as we had hoped to do on Friday due to construction delays in the ever changing estuary environment. We are happy to report that we were able to remove the dam in the morning low tide cycle today -  the culvert open to flow and fish! 

Due to construction delays, we need to extend the daily road closure currently in effect. The following road closures have been added to finalize road reconstruction: 

• Thursday May 30th, 7am - 5pm
• Friday May 31, 7am - 4pm

After this week, there will still be equipment working on site and we do not anticipate the need for additional road closures, though there may be a requirement for single lane traffic depending on works. Thank-you for your continued understanding as we work restore fish access to the estuary for juvenile Chinook Salmon in their rearing life stage, as they emerge from the river systems and transition for life at sea. 

The Squamish River Watershed Society (SRWS), in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Squamish Nation is currently implementing phase 1 of the Central Estuary Restoration Project. Phase 1 of the project is focused on upgrading an existing culvert to improve fish access between the Squamish River and the estuary, and active construction for this commenced in April 2019.

We have been busy placing 100kg, 500kg and 1000kg rip-rap a.k.a. really big rocks at the inlet and outlet of the box culvert in the past week. This is to limit scouring from water flows to maintain the integrity of the culvert. This scour protection rip-rap has been designed to withstand a 200 year river flood event, that coincides with a low tide event resulting in a high flow volume and velocity from the river to the estuary. As the rip-rap placement wraps up, we are pulling the dam today that has been in place throughout construction and allow the water to flow from the river to the estuary. This is a very exciting project milestone for us and the fish! 

We have also been releasing juvenile Chinook in the river that have been tagged with pit and acoustic telemetry tags in the past week, and more will be released next week. This will tell us if they are using the culvert and where in the lower flood plain they are swimming adding to our 5 year fish monitoring data set in the area used to support an adaptive management approach to habitat restoration. 

To accommodate final road reconstruction and bank restoration the road will be closed to traffic between 7am - 5pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week (May  27, 28, 29th). We appreciate your continued understanding and support as we undertake this work that is critical to the survival of juvenile salmonids, particularly Chinook – an at risk species that is a primary food source for the southern resident killer whales. For more information on the science that has informed this project please visit:

https://www.squamishwatershed.com/cerp-updates/juvenile-chinook-an-at-risk-species-limited-by-the-squamish-river-training-berm
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Questions can be directed to [email protected]

The Squamish River Watershed Society (SRWS), in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Squamish Nation is currently implementing phase 1 of the Central Estuary Restoration Project. Phase 1 of the project is focused on upgrading an existing culvert to improve fish access between the Squamish River and the estuary, and active construction for this commenced in April 2019.

Since placing the culvert last week crews have been busy back filling the area, with the goal to partially reopen the road to traffic for May 15th. Work has been proceeding well, and we are scheduled to open the area to single lane car access at noon (12 pm) on May 15, 2019

Active construction including the placement of rip-rap on the estuary and river side of the culvert, delivery of large rock and materials, and  re-vegetation will be on going until June 2019. Those accessing the area are asked to approach with caution, and comply with all safety signage and direction from flagging staff. 

To accommodate works road access may be limited without notice at night, and those accessing in day time can expect intermittent delays. Adherence to onsite safety measures will support continued access during this time, please be kind to our flagging staff and remember they are there to keep you safe while we work to restore critical fish habitat. 

We are doing our best to accommodate access while completing works. Unforeseen changes may  require intermittent closures to maintain public safety. Should this be necessary we will provide updates with as much notice as possible. 

We appreciate your continued understanding and support as we undertake this work that is critical to the survival of juvenile salmonids, particularly Chinook – an at risk species that is a primary food source for the southern resident killer whales. For more information on the science that has informed this project please visit:

https://www.squamishwatershed.com/cerp-updates/juvenile-chinook-an-at-risk-species-limited-by-the-squamish-river-training-berm
​
Questions can be directed to [email protected]

The Squamish River Watershed Society (SRWS), in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Squamish Nation is currently implementing phase 1 of the Central Estuary Restoration Project. Phase 1 of the project is focused on upgrading an existing culvert to improve fish access between the Squamish River and the estuary, and active construction for this commenced in April 2019.

This week was the week we were have been preparing for and it was all hands on deck to advance construction as the tides moved into their bi-weekly low tide cycle. The lower tides allowed us successfully place the box culvert foundation and pieces in place. The 11 box culvert pieces, each weighing in at 17,000 kg, and 2 box culvert head walls weighing in at 22,000 kg were gently placed and assembled in their resting spot. Works were guided by the expertise of our supplier, design engineers, contractor, crane operator and Fisheries and Oceans Canada engineering staff who are supervising works. It took a big team to realize this weeks work and we are happy to report that it came together like clockwork! 

We remain on schedule and are doing our best to partially re-open the road to traffic by May 15th for the start of the upcoming windsport season. Once the culvert is in place and the road reinstated, we will be placing rip-rap on the estuary and river side of the inlet/outlet until June 2019. We continue to work in collaboration with all stakeholders and will update this blog site when the road is open again to traffic. 

We appreciate your continued understanding and support as we undertake this work that is critical to the survival of juvenile salmonids, particularly Chinook – an at risk species that is a primary food source for the southern resident killer whales. For more information on the science that has informed this project please visit:

https://www.squamishwatershed.com/cerp-updates/juvenile-chinook-an-at-risk-species-limited-by-the-squamish-river-training-berm
​
Questions can be directed to [email protected]

​The Squamish River Watershed Society (SRWS), in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Squamish Nation is currently implementing phase 1 of the Central Estuary Restoration Project. Phase 1 of the project is focused on upgrading an existing culvert to improve fish access between the Squamish River and the estuary, and active construction for this commenced in April 2019.

It was a busy and exciting week on the site as we prepare for box culvert install next week. The new culvert is no small pipe! it measures 3m x 3m, and spans roughly 30m long when assembled. This week was spent excavating the existing damaged culvert, preparing the pad for the crane needed to lift culvert sections, and receiving the culvert pieces that came up on 7 over-sized loads from Langley!

Works are proceeding on schedule, and we will be taking advantage of next week’s low tide windows to lay the culvert foundations, and assemble the 11 culvert pieces, and 2 headwalls into to place. Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff are onsite supervising works, and the road remains temporarily closed to traffic. 

We are doing our best to partially re-open the road to traffic by May 15th for the start of the upcoming windsport season. Once the culvert is in place and the road reinstated, we will be placing rip-rap on the estuary and river side of the inlet/outlet until June 2019. We continue to work in collaboration with all stakeholders including the Squamish Windsports Society’s Board of Directors to communicate construction updates to the windsport community and the general public.

We appreciate your continued understanding and support as we undertake this work that is critical to the survival of juvenile salmonids, particularly Chinook – an at risk species that is a primary food source for the southern resident killer whales. For more information on the science that has informed this project please visit:

https://www.squamishwatershed.com/cerp-updates/juvenile-chinook-an-at-risk-species-limited-by-the-squamish-river-training-berm
​
Questions can be directed to [email protected]