Rivers and Lakes

Its basin represents just about every type of climatic zone and ecosystem in British Columbia and is home to an abundant diversity of wildlife plus nearly two million people 60 per cent of B.C.’s population. The Fraser is North America’s richest salmon river and is the backbone of the province’s fishery, contributing 66 per cent of the province’s total sockeye salmon catch and 60 per cent of its total pink salmon catch.

However, the river is under stress as millions of tons of pollutants are pumped into it from urban areas and industries. Overfishing and habitat destruction have reduced salmon stocks. And development is non-stop due to the fast-growing population.

To cope with all this change, the Fraser River Action Plan (FRAP) was set up in 1991 with $100 million in federal funds. The objective of FRAP is to rebuild salmon stocks, clean up the environment and protect habitat. Much has been accomplished but much remains to be done.

Today the Fraser delta is home to Vancouver International Airport, Iona Island and Annacis Island sewage treatment plants, Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, four regional parks (Pacific Spirit at Point Grey, Iona Beach in Richmond, Deas Island in the South Arm and Boundary Bay in Delta), and ever-expanding suburbs and shopping centres. It’s a volatile mix.

Probably the best known lakes in the city are little ones Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake in Stanley Park. Lost Lagoon is artificial, created in 1916 by construction of a causeway. Today its 17 hectares are a paradise for birdlovers and its fountain is endlessly photographed. The water lilies of Beaver Lake flower in dazzling pinks and yellows in August and great blue herons stalk the shoreline. But the lake itself is slowly becoming a swamp.

John Hendry Park in East Vancouver is the site of Trout Lake, which once served as the water source for a sawmill. There are no trout in the lake now, but the park, named after a mill owner, is an oasis of green among city streets.

Burnaby has a network of waterways river, creeks and lakes many of which are linked with parks. The 160 hectares of Burnaby Lake, first mapped in 1860, are now the centre of a regional park with nine kilometres of trails, a wildlife sanctuary and nature house. Rowing and canoeing are popular lake sports and there’s a viewing tower to watch ducks and great blue herons.

Flowing from the lake is the Brunette River, once heavily polluted, where the Sapperton Fish and Game Club has worked since 1969, to restore salmon stocks with great success. Its name comes from its brown color, caused by the leaching of peat into the river.

About one kilometre southwest of Burnaby Lake is Deer Lake, almost surrounded by a park latticed with trails through woods and meadows. Adult salmon pass through the lake on their way to tributaries where they spawn. The lake acts as a settling pond for pollutants from Still Creek, thereby protecting the “outflowing” Brunette.

The Serpentine River drains most of Surrey and then empties into Mud Bay just north of Crescent Beach. The other major Surrey river is the Nicomekl, which actually rises in Langley and eventually flows into the southern end of Mud Bay. When fur traders paddled up the Nicomekl in 1824, they excitedly reported seeing “thousands of beaver.” No such luck these days, but both the Serpentine and the Nicomekl are salmon rivers and the former provides valuable waterfowl habitat near its mouth.

The Salmon River, flanked by farmland as it meanders through Langley, lives up to its name and is one of the most productive coho streams in British Columbia. In fact many of the Fraser’s richest salmon tributaries clustered between Vancouver and Hope flow through densely populated areas yet they account for a staggering 50 per cent of the Fraser’s coho stocks and 100 per cent of its chum. That’s why FRAP is working on many of these streams with such projects as planting trees to provide shade and prevent erosion.

Industry has spoiled much of the Coquitlam River, which flows through both Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam into the Fraser just east of the Port Mann Bridge. About 14 kilometres upstream a dam built in 1914 diverted most of the river’s water flow for electricity and cut off sockeye salmon from their rearing habitat in Coquitlam Lake. Biologists say the Coquitlam River is one of the most degraded streams in the Lower Mainland with everything from gravel pit operations to dyke construction. But in recent years, thanks to FRAP, much has been done to improve water flow and fish habitat. The Coquitlam’s struggling fish are finally getting help.

Also in Coquitlam are several small lakes Como, Mundy, Lost and Lafarge in local parks. Hoy Creek, in the midst of suburbia, is also bordered by linear park. In complete contrast in Coquitlam’s northern reaches are the rugged mountain lakes, Dennett and Munro, of Burke Mountain Regional Park.

Next door in Port Coquitlam the Pitt River flows from Pitt Lake, the only tidal freshwater lake in the world, into the Fraser River at Douglas Island. Pitt River has several tributaries including the Alouette (the name comes from a native word for wild onion).

The Alouette, which rises 40 kilometres east of Vancouver in Golden Ears Provincial Park and flows through Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, is also being helped by FRAP. It’s become one of the busiest sport fishing rivers in the Lower Mainland and is a favorite of canoeists.

Also in Maple Ridge lively Kanaka Creek is a raging torrent in wet weather, but its length is almost covered by a linear regional park which provides glorious trail walks.

In Langley the Little Campbell River produces coho, chum, chinook salmon and trout with help from a hatchery. The river enters Semiahmoo Bay near White Rock and a slow-moving stretch of it flows through Campbell Valley Regional Park.

On the North Shore the major stream is the Capilano, which twists and turns through canyons and deep pools for eight kilometres below the 1954-built Cleveland Dam. This section of the river is covered by a regional park where old growth trees make for great hiking territory.

Capilano Lake, formed above the dam, is 5.6 kilometres long and supplies 40 per cent of the Lower Mainland’s drinking water. A suspension bridge over one of the Capilano’s canyons and a fish hatchery below the dam are major tourist attractions. Within sight of the fishermen often clustered around the river’s mouth is a sewage treatment plant.

In North Vancouver, Lynn Creek and the Seymour River flow roughly parallel to each other from the mountains into Burrard Inlet. The lower reaches of Lynn Creek, including another suspension bridge, are mostly parkland. Its upper reaches form the heart of Lynn Headwaters Regional Park, a spectacular wilderness recreation area.

The Seymour River has been dammed about 20 kilometres from its mouth to create Seymour Lake, another of Greater Vancouver’s major water reservoirs.

One of the Lower Mainland’s warmest lakes, Sasamat, is in Belcarra Regional Park at Burrard Inlet’s entrance to Indian Arm. No power boats are allowed on the lake in summer so that it’s safe for swimmers. The lake area was added to the park in 1986 and is very popular for group picnics.

One of the few significant watercourses flowing into Howe Sound is Furry Creek and its tributary Middle Creek. The land around both creeks was logged extensively in the 1900s and the upper reaches of Furry Creek were dammed to provide power for Britannia Mine. However, a new golf club across which the creeks run has sparked extensive restoration work and initial plans for a marina on the delta where gravel beds are important for salmon rearing have been rejected.