Cowichan River watershed: Water quality report for the 2023/24 wet season

Executive summary

Water is essential for life, and steps are needed to understand, protect and restore its health in fish habitat throughout British Columbia. The Raincoast Healthy Waters program was launched in 2023 to establish community-oriented water pollution monitoring in select BC watersheds. Two Healthy Waters sampling events take place every year in each watershed, the first in the dry season (summer), and the second being in the wet season (winter). This report highlights results from the first wet (winter) season sampling carried out with the support and participation of Cowichan Tribes. Briefly, the Healthy Waters – Cowichan Tribes team determined basic water properties (temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen and turbidity) in situ at sampling sites on December 12, 2023. Water samples were collected from five water categories, including source water (3 samples), stream and river water (3 samples), road runoff (3 samples), tap water (10 samples) and marine water (3 samples). Samples were then pooled by water category and analysed for coliform, metals, nutrients and physical parameters, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), alkylphenol ethoxylates, bisphenols, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), sucralose and 6PPD-Quinone.  This initial sampling with a limited number of samples suggests that, overall, Cowichan River water quality was relatively good. Additional sampling and analysis will provide additional insight into any sources or activities that may be impacting the health of this valued watershed.

Cowichan River watershed

Key findings

• This is a preliminary assessment of water quality in the Cowichan River watershed; our understanding of water quality will grow with additional sampling.
• We collected and analysed water in the Cowichan River watershed during the wet season (December 12, 2023).
• Road runoff was the most contaminated water category in the wet season; it had the highest concentrations of coliform bacteria, nutrients, pesticides, alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), and 6PPD-Quinone.
• Marine water was the second most contaminated water category in the wet season; it had the highest concentration of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), and sucralose.
• Tap, and stream and river water were less contaminated than the above water categories in the wet season.
• Overall, the Cowichan River watershed had relatively good water quality in the wet season:
  • There were two exceedances of Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines.
  • There were no exceedances of Health Canada Drinking Water Quality Guidelines.

Background

Raincoast’s Healthy Waters Program (https://www.raincoast.org/waters/) delivers high-resolution, community-oriented water quality analysis to watersheds across southern British Columbia. The goal of Healthy Waters is to empower communities with the understanding of the status of water quality in their watersheds, to allow for local advocacy regarding both point and nonpoint source pollution. 

Cowichan Tribes is the largest single First Nation Band in British Columbia with over 5,000 members, approximately half of whom live on Reserve. While archaeological evidence indicates that the Cowichan People have been present in the area as far back as 4,500 years, their collective historical memory says that they have been present here since time immemorial. 

Cowichan Tribes  is made up of seven traditional villages: Kwa’mutsun, Qwum’yiqun’, Xwulqw’selu, S’amunu Lhumlhumuluts’, Xinupsum, and Tl’ulpalus distributed throughout the Cowichan River watershed and beyond.

A watershed based approach to sampling

We collect samples from five different categories of water in each of our partner watersheds: from source water, upstream of human impacts, down to the marine environment. 

Source water serves as an upstream reference sample, allowing us to determine which contaminants are being introduced as water traces its path down through the watershed. 

Stream and river samples allow us to investigate the quality of fish habitat directly, by collecting samples from streams, creeks, and rivers used by salmon and other fish species (either currently or historically). 

Road runoff serves as an impacted sample category of current concern, as many contaminants, including  PAHs, metals, surfactants and chemicals such as 6-PPD quinone can be washed off roadways and into fish habitat during rain events. 

We include tap water samples in our analysis as a way to bring our homes into the conversation – we borrow water from the environment in the form of municipal or well water, and generally return it to aquatic habitats in a more-degraded state in the form of storm and sewage effluent (treated or untreated).

Marine water samples provide insight into those contaminants that may degrade fish and whale habitat in the ocean, and enable an understanding of the contribution of land-based pollutants from the adjacent watershed to the marine environment.

Collectively, the lessons learned from our partnering watersheds will contribute to a greater understanding of threats to water quality across British Columbia, and ultimately what policy changes can be implemented to preserve the quality of water for the future of salmon, whales, and people.

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