The Metro Vancouver watersheds, also known as the Greater Vancouver watersheds, supply

potable water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

to approximately 2.7 million residents in the

Lower Mainland The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. They provide tap water to a land area covering more than , serving a total of 21 member municipalities, one electoral district, and one treaty First Nation. From west to east, the watersheds are the Capilano (), the Seymour (), and the Coquitlam (). They are located in the

North Shore Mountains The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city. The steep southern slopes of the No ...

and Coquitlam Mountain, respectively. Each watershed possesses a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

for water storage purposes, under the control of

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and Corporation, corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as o ...

. The reservoirs are supplied by about of rain and of snowpack annually. Two additional off- catchment areas (Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve and Or Creek watershed) under control of Metro Vancouver contribute to the water supply.http://www.bctwa.org/AboutGreaterVanWatersheds.pdf The watersheds have a long history of controversies surrounding

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, truckshighway development, and salmon run conservation.

History

Establishment

The

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

area began to grow rapidly in the late 1880s. In April 1886, two entities, the Vancouver Water Works Company and the Coquitlam Water Works Company, were established with the goal of finding and providing good, reliable sources of

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

for the growing population.

Seymour and Capilano watersheds

In 1887, the

Capilano River The Capilano River flows from north to south through the Coast Mountains on the North Shore of the Burrard Inlet between British Columbia's district municipalities of West Vancouver and North Vancouver and empties into Burrard Inlet, opposite Sta ...

was selected as the source of water supply for the

City of Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

. An intake pipe was constructed upstream of the mouth of the river, and a

pipeline A pipeline is a system of Pipe (fluid conveyance), pipes for long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas, typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countries ...

carried this water across the First Narrows of Burrard Inlet and into the City of Vancouver. As the population in the Lower Mainland of Vancouver continued to grow, it became clear that another source of water was needed to meet growing demands. In 1905, Vancouver Mayor Frederick Buscombe identified the Seymour River as a valuable water resource. Recognizing that the surrounding watershed land should be protected from logging and mining activities, the B.C. government obtained a 999-year lease to designate the Capilano and the Seymour as a watershed

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

for water supply purposes in 1905 and 1906, respectively. Lands purchased prior to the reserve agreement remained under private ownership, and established mining and timber claims were considered valid and were still practiced after 1905 and 1906. In 1908, the first intake in the Seymour River was constructed. It was in the form of a wooden

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

stave Stave may refer to: Music * Stave (music), used in musical notation * Stanza * The Staves, an English folk rock trio People * Bruce M. Stave (1937–2017), American historian * Joel Stave (born 1992), American football quarterback Place ...

pipe and was situated from the mouth of the river, and at an elevation of . A second intake, north of the first one, was built in 1913. The pipeline supplied water to residents of North Vancouver, and later carried water underneath the

Second Narrows Bridge The Second Narrows Rail Bridge is a Vertical-lift bridge, vertical-lift railway bridge that crosses the Burrard Inlet and connects Vancouver with the North Shore (Greater Vancouver), North Shore. The bridge's south end connects directly to the ...

to residents of Vancouver,

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. In 1927, the wooden pipe was replaced by a steel pipe. In 1928, a small dam was built six kilometers north of the Seymour intake. This dam, known as the Seymour Falls Dam, resulted in filling of a 180-acre reservoir. The dam and the reservoir were expanded in 1961 to the size they are found today.

Coquitlam watershed

From 1892 onwards,

Coquitlam Lake Coquitlam Lake is a reservoir (water), reservoir located just north of Coquitlam, British Columbia. It is one of the three main water sources for Metro Vancouver, and part of the Metro Vancouver watersheds, Coquitlam watershed. It is also a part o ...

was the domestic water supply for the City of New Westminster. On October 18, 1902, the Vancouver Power Company (VPC) took over control of providing New Westminster City with long-term potable water from the Coquitlam Water Works Company. The intake for New Westminster's water supply was originally located at the lower end of

, above the location of the first dam. A new intake location in the western half of the dam was installed in 1905. In August 1909, the federal government granted the VPC rights to the water within the Coquitlam

and almost the entire Coquitlam run-off.

Logging

Early logging: 1918–1931

From 1918 to 1931, the Seattle owned Capilano Timber Company logged an estimated of old-growth forest in the Capilano watershed. Capilano Timber Company obtained timber leases prior to the decision in 1905 to prevent any more land in the Capilano watershed to be privately purchased. In 1916, residents were notified of the railway complex being planned for logging operations, and by 1918 clear cutting in the Capilano watershed had begun. Watershed observers, hired by the City of Vancouver to investigate the logging activity in the Capilano, noted that logging was occurring at high elevations (up to ), on steep slopes, and at the mouths of tributaries to Capilano River. Residents and politicians in Vancouver became very concerned that the quality of the future water supply was at risk from logging activities. In addition to logging, fires were also a concern. Thirty-seven fires caused by logging practices occurred in the Capilano watershed during the occupation of the Capilano Timber Company. One of these fires burned an estimated 3,213 acres in the watershed. In 1922, Ernest Cleveland, the provincial Comptroller of Water Rights and Consulting Engineer of the Provincial Lands Department of BC, submitted a report recommending that the watersheds be under the complete control of those responsible for the water supply. He asserted that land in the watersheds should no longer be leased for the purpose of timber extraction. There was a great amount of debate over this idea. Following Cleveland's recommendation, the provincial minister of lands, T.D. Pattullo granted an additional 170 acres of land above the city's water intake to Capilano Timber Company. This action was met with backlash from citizens and elected officials and was eventually cancelled by British Columbia Premier

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British and American comedian who hosts ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' on HBO. He started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom and came to wider attention for his work ...

. In 1924,

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

professor and botanist John Davidson addressed the Vancouver Natural History Society to express concern for effects of clear-cut logging on water supply quality in the Capilano watershed. Pattullo responded with an article in the newspaper disagreeing with Davidson, and the debate continued in a very public and intense fashion. On February 3, 1926, the Greater Vancouver Water District (GVWD) was officially formed with Ernest Cleveland as its Commissioner. In 1927, the GVWD obtained a 999-year lease from the provincial government for all Crown land and timber in the Capilano and Seymour watersheds. The rental fee was one dollar per year, per watershed. The Capilano Timber Company abandoned its logging activities in the Capilano Watershed in 1931. The GVWD gradually bought out all logging companies in the Capilano watershed, and Capilano and Seymour were soon completely closed watersheds. In 1931, the GVWD gained title to the Coquitlam watershed, but a 999-year lease to the Coquitlam was not granted by the provincial government until 1942.

Logging for watershed protection and expansion

Throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s the GVWD was persistent in its position to keep logging out of the watersheds. Following Cleveland's death in 1952, many forestry companies began to push for logging of land in the watersheds for income. They argued that logging of mature forest was necessary for protection of the watersheds against forest fires, insect infestation, and old aged trees. However, near the end of the decade, the position of the GVWD on logging began to show signs of changing. On December 16, 1958, logging in the Seymour watershed began to clear land for the new Seymour dam reservoir. The GVRD hired Consolidated Services Ltd, consulting foresters and engineers, to direct operations. By the end of the project, 487 acres were cleared and a five-mile access road was built alongside the eastern portion of the Seymour Reservoir. The cleared logs were sold and brought in around $540,000. In 1960, the GVWD announced plans to continue building a road nine miles further north to the Loch Lomond reservoir in the Seymour watershed. In 1961, 316 acres of forest in the Seymour watershed were logged to prevent a wooly aphid infestation on Balsam tree species from spreading to the rest of the forest. As the decade continued, the case for logging in the watershed for the reasons of protection began to strengthen. In 1967, the 1927 GVWD lease agreement (known as the Amending Indenture) with the provincial government was changed to now allow for building of roads and logging of

old-growth forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

s in all three watersheds. The timber on the watershed land was to be managed on a

sustained yield The Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (or MUSYA) (Public Law 86-517) is a federal law passed by the United States Congress on June 12, 1960. This law authorizes and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and administer the renewab ...

basis for the purpose of developing, protecting and improving the water-yielding characteristics of the land. In the Seymour and Coquitlam watersheds, there were no roads above the water intakes before 1960. In the Capilano watershed, only a service road to B.C. Hydro transmission lines was present. From 1961 to 1992, over of logging road were constructed in the three watersheds. These roads were built through old-growth forests, across steep mountain slopes, and alongside and through creeks. About in total of forest was logged as a result of roadbuilding and logging in the watersheds. The GVWD continued to insist that logging operations were enhancing and improving water quality despite contrary findings of studies in the areas of soil and forest hydrology.

The end of logging in the watersheds

In 1988, a public campaign by the

Western Canada Wilderness Committee The Western Canada Wilderness Committee (often shortened to Wilderness Committee) is a non-profit environmental education organization that aims to protect Canada's wild spaces and species. Paul George was the founding director, and formed t ...

brought attention to the logging issues, and the GVWD conducted a public inquiry in 1991. Public advocacy groups including the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation, the Burke Mountain Naturalists, the Friends of the Watersheds, and the BC Tap Water Alliance made strong cases for halting logging activities. In 1999, the GVWD resolved to end all logging activity in the Greater Vancouver watersheds. The 1967 Amending Indenture was cancelled on February 8, 2002. A promise to deactivate the logging roads in the watersheds was made.

Summary of watershed logging

Capilano Highway debate

The idea of a public motor highway passing through the Capilano watershed to connect North Vancouver to Squamish and

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

park was first suggested by J.W. Weart, chairman of the Garibaldi Park Board, in 1929. A campaign for this highway was maintained by the Howe Sound Highway Committee (HSHC) from 1950 to 1954. At this time, the only transport from Vancouver to the Squamish area was by ferry. The proposed route for the highway would be along transmission line access roads in the Capilano watershed, eventually connecting with logging roads in the Furry Creek watershed. Even after the death of their leader Ernest Cleveland in 1952, the GVWD maintained its position that the watersheds must be protected by isolation. In 1954, the HSHC accepted that their efforts for a highway would not be successful. In 1990 the topic was revisited by

Rita Johnston Rita Margaret Johnston (born April 22, 1935; née Leichert) is a Canadian politician in British Columbia. Johnston became the first female premier in Canadian history when she succeeded Bill Vander Zalm in 1991 to become the 29th premier of Br ...

, Social Credit Minister of Highways, when a rock slide cut off traffic on the

Sea to Sky highway Highway 99 is a provincial highway in British Columbia that runs from the U.S. border to near Cache Creek, serving Greater Vancouver and the Squamish–Lillooet corridor. It is a major north–south artery within Vancouver and connects the c ...

near

Lions Bay Lions Bay (, ) is a small residential community in British Columbia, Canada, located between Vancouver and Squamish on the steep eastern shore of Howe Sound. In the 2021 census the community had a population of 1,390, BC's 36th smallest municipal ...

Policy and land status summary

Reservoirs and catchment areas

Capilano

The ''Capilano watershed'' spans an area of . It is west of

Grouse Mountain Grouse Mountain is one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges in the District Municipality of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. With a maximum elevation of over 1,200 m (4,100 ft) at its peak, the mountain is t ...

and north of the popular tourist attraction,

Capilano Suspension Bridge The Capilano Suspension Bridge is a simple suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River in Upper Capilano, British Columbia, Canada, in the District of North Vancouver. The current bridge is long and above the river. It is part of a private ...

. Streams and creeks in this mountainous terrain drain into the

and are carried into

Capilano Lake Capilano Lake is a manmade lake located in the District of North Vancouver and West Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. History The lake accounts for approximately 40% of Greater Vancouver's water supply. The southern part of the lake is wi ...

, a reservoir constructed in 1954 by the Greater Vancouver water district for the purpose of storing water. There are 11 main

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

s that combine with the waters of the

as it makes its way from its origins at Capilano Mountain to the Capilano Reservoir. Andrews Creek, Daniels Creek, Dean Creek, Eastcap Creek, Enchantment Creek, Hanover Creek, Hesketh Creek, Hollsgate Creek and Sisters Creek are some of these tributaries. Capilano reservoir is long, wide, and deep and can store 57.9 billion litres of water. It is retained at its south outflow behind the

Cleveland Dam The Cleveland Dam is a concrete dam at the head of the Capilano River in Upper Capilano, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that holds back Capilano Lake, also known as Capilano reservoir. Part of the Capilano River Regional Park, it st ...

. The Capilano River continues south of the dam and flows out into the

Burrard Inlet Burrard Inlet () is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coa ...

. Approximately 93% of the catchment for the Capilano River lies above the Cleveland Dam. Palisade Reservoir, an alpine lake in the Capilano watershed, serves as a secondary reservoir to augment flow in the Capilano River and improve water quality in the Capilano Reservoir during the dry season.

Seymour

The ''Seymour watershed'' is a long narrow valley with an area of approximately . It is east of Cathedral Mountain and northwest of the

Fannin Range The Fannin Range is a small mountain range in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. Lying between the Seymour River and the glacial fjord Indian Arm, the range extends from the slopes of Mount Seymour on the Burr ...

mountains and Mount Seymour Provincial Park. It is a maximum of in the north–south direction and in the west–east direction. The reservoir in the Seymour watershed is Seymour Lake. It has the capacity to hold 32 billion litres of water, and is usually full in the fall, winter and spring months. It receives inflow from tributaries such as Burwell Creek, Fannin Creek, and Gibbens Creek, but the majority of water enters as the Seymour River. Seymour Lake was originally a small reservoir created by the building of the Seymour Falls Dam on the Seymour River in 1928. When the dam was expanded in 1960, the Seymour Reservoir greatly expanded as well. It now stretches in length, and between and wide. There are two alpine reservoirs, Loch Lomond and Burwell Lake, that can be drawn upon in the dry season. The Seymour River originates above the Seymour Falls Dam, and receives inflow from tributaries such as Sheba Creek, Balfour Creek, and Orchid Creek as it makes its way towards Seymour Lake. Seymour River continues for another below the dam before emptying into the Burrard Inlet, traveling a total distance of .

Coquitlam

The ''Coquitlam watershed'' is the largest of the three Metro Vancouver watersheds having an area of . It is north of the city of

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with an estimated population of 174,248 in 2024, and one of th ...

, east of

Indian Arm Indian Arm () is a steep-sided glacial fjord adjacent to the city of Vancouver in southwestern British Columbia. Formed during the Last Glacial Period, last Ice Age, it extends due north from Burrard Inlet, between the communities of Belcarra (t ...

and

Buntzen Lake Buntzen Lake is a long lake in Anmore, British Columbia, Canada, in the Greater Vancouver area. It is named after the first general manager of the British Columbia Electric Railway, B.C. Electric Co., Johannes Buntzen. There is a smaller lake ...

, and west of Coquitlam Mountain.

, a natural lake, is the reservoir for the Coquitlam watershed. It receives inflow of water from the

Coquitlam River The Coquitlam River (Help:IPA/English, /koʊˈkwɪtləm/ or Help:IPA/English, /kəˈkwɪtləm/) is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. The river's name comes from the wo ...

whose headwaters are situated north at Disappointment Lake. Many creeks and streams drain into the Coquitlam River and Coquitlam Lake from the surrounding mountains. Coquitlam Lake was dammed in 1905 by the BC Electric Railway Company. The Coquitlam River extends south of the dam, passing through the

Coquitlam Town Centre Coquitlam Town Centre is the main commercial and retail neighbourhood for the city of Coquitlam, British Columbia. Coquitlam Town Centre covers . The Town Centre also contains the highest concentration of high-rise Condominium (living space), cond ...

and eventually meeting the

Fraser River The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...

Human impacts and environmental concerns

Salmon in Coquitlam Lake

Coquitlam's original name,

Kwikwetlem The Kwikwetlem First Nation, also known as the Coquitlam Indian Band, is the band government of the Kwikwetlem, a Sto:lo people living in the Coquitlam area of British Columbia, Canada. They traditionally speak the Downriver dialect of hən̓q ...

, translates to "red fish up the river" named after the plentiful

sockeye salmon The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This species is a ...

populations that historically spawned around Coquitlam Lake. The construction of the Coquitlam Dam raised concern about salmon migrational patterns for the four salmon species that frequently spawned in Coquitlam River:

sockeye The sockeye salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also called red salmon, kokanee salmon, blueback salmon, or simply sockeye, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Pacific Ocean, Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it. This ...

coho COHO, short for Coherent Oscillator, is a technique used with radar systems based on the cavity magnetron to allow them to implement a moving target indicator display. Because the signals are only coherent when received, not transmitted, the concept ...

, chum, and

steelhead Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the Fish migration#Classification, anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or Columbia River redband trout (''O. m. gairdneri'', also called redband steelhead). Steelhead are native to cold-wa ...

. Thousands of spawning salmon originally ran through Coquitlam Lake. The dam, used for the purposes of water supply and power generation, suspended salmon spawning in the upper part of the Coquitlam River. Areas in tributaries that the salmon used for spawning were destroyed when the dam raised the lake's water level by 5 feet. By 1913, sockeye salmon became locally extinct in the area. Over the past century, the other salmon populations (coho, chum, and steelhead) also suffered but they managed to persevere, even showing some signs of improvement in later years. However, the dam was not the only factor for the low salmon populations: overfishing in the ocean and the decline in the quality of their habitat also contributed to the decrease in their populations. Vancouver Power Company and the City of New Westminster wanted to exterminate the salmon because they feared the salmon would ruin the quality of Coquitlam Lake's water supply. The City of New Westminster hired First Nations people, likely from the Kwikwetlem First Nation, to prevent water quality contamination by removing salmon carcasses from the water intake screens. Since the early 1990s, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had given priority status to protecting salmon spawning areas. The current

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; ) is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland ...

has spent years trying to protect the Coquitlam salmon run. The sockeye salmon returned to the Coquitlam River after 100 years and are now monitored to re-establish the run. Individuals, volunteer groups, and municipalities have also made an effort to save the salmon run. Multiple plans, projects and reports have been put into place over the past two decades to understand and to increase salmon populations in the Coquitlam Watershed. In the 2011 Coquitlam/Buntzen Watershed Plan, the goal was to make an improved habitat conservation and restoration plan and to find actions that benefit all the salmon species. The priority salmon species included sockeye, coho, steelhead,

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

, cutthroat, and

chinook Chinook may refer to: Chinook peoples The name derives from a settlement of Indigenous people in Oregon and Washington State. * Chinookan peoples, several groups of Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest ** Chinook Indian Nation, an organiza ...

Erosion and landslides

Metro Vancouver's heavy rainfall creates the potential for

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

and

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

s in the

stream banks In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

of the watersheds. Not only does this cause

turbidity Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large numbers of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye, similar to smoke in air. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of both water clarity and wa ...

in Vancouver's

, but it also poses a threat for salmon

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

terrestrial ecosystem Terrestrial ecosystems are ecosystems that are found on land. Examples include tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland, deserts. Terrestrial ecosystems differ from aquatic ecosystems by the predominant presen ...

s, and human-made infrastructure.

Climate change

In the summer of 2015,

had a particularly dry summer and the three reservoirs experienced very low water levels due to a lack of precipitation. In the months of May, June, July, and August (before August 27), Vancouver experienced , , , and of rain, respectively. When the reservoir levels reached a water level that was below its normal range in July, Stage 3

water restrictions An outdoor water-use restriction is a ban or other lesser restrictions put into effect that restricts the outdoor use of water supplies. Often called a watering ban or hosepipe ban, it can affect: *irrigation of lawns * car washing *recreatio ...

were imposed for Metro Vancouver residents where watering lawns, washing cars outdoors, and refilling pools were banned.

Public access

All Metro Vancouver watersheds are closed to the public. Public access to all watersheds is restricted in order to mitigate risks of water supply contamination from human disturbances, such as pollution and

. However, it is possible to participate in a registered watershed tour to gain access into the watersheds. In the summer, guided tours are taken by bus in the Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam watersheds, and in the winter, tours are taken on snowshoe on

Mount Seymour Mount Seymour is a mountain located in Mount Seymour Provincial Park in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the North Shore Mountains, rising to the north from the shores of Burrard Inlet and Indian Ar ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Metro Vancouver websiteWatershed Tours
Lakes of the Lower Mainland Watersheds of Canada Watersheds