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Next Meeting
Monday, March 5th, 6:30PM, Zion United Church, Silverton
Slocan Lake Floodplain
The following article is from the Nov. 2, 2011 issue of the Valley VOICE and is reprinted with their premission.
“RDCK grapples with Slocan Lake floodplain relaxation request
by Timothy Schafer
Owners of a private property within Valhalla Provincial Park boundaries will have to wait a little longer for a Regional District board decision on their request to have a floodplain setback relaxed so they can build closer to the shore of Slocan Lake.
The Regional District of Central Kootenay Rural Affairs Committee has referred the controversial matter back to RDCK staff for a site review, said committee chair and Area D Director Andy Shadrack.
“Some information came to light and staff wanted to go and check the site in relation to the reports that have been received,” he said. “There appears to be a contradiction in one of the reports and the information supplied to the Regional District, so we have to look at it [again].”
The owners applied for the setback relaxation in August.
The 1.72-acre Area H property owned by Richard and Endang Turner of Oyama, south of Vernon, is within the boundaries of Valhalla Provincial Park. Having no road access or power, it is characterized by a rocky southwest shoreline with site restrictions related to topography, approximately three kilometres north of the Village of Slocan.
The property slope is at a 30-degree gradient for most of the land above Slocan Lake. As a result, placing a structure on the property would require manual labour and the use of solar power, so maximization of southern exposure is important.
In a report dated October 19 to the RDCK’s Rural Affairs Committee, Senior Planner Meeri Durand recommended the floodplain setback be changed from 15 metres to five metres, as the owners had requested, subject to approval of a site remediation plan.
It was felt that if the owners had to place a structure somewhere else on the property, it would result in further land clearing and modification, Durand said in the report. The structure had to be exposed to maximize alternative power generation.
Durand said a professional report dismissed impacts to Slocan Lake as negligible as long as appropriate mitigation measures were taken, and these would be included in the development permit.
“The relative isolation of this property and adjacent properties would indicate the circumstances of this application are unique and cannot be construed as setting precedence,” Durand said in her report to the committee.
But the request has sparked some opposition, from public and private concerns. The Slocan Lake Stewardship Society is against allowing the request, even though a site report notes that the beach has been disturbed and no longer provides fish habitat.
“To use the illegally degraded state of the beach as a reason to allow development is to reward those who have disturbed it,” said society president Therese DesCamp in a letter to RDCK’s Rural Affairs Committee. “It is far more appropriate to recommend restoration of the foreshore than to recommend the relaxation of rules that protect the foreshore from further disturbance.”
Area H Director Walter Popoff also opposes approving the setback, citing the .7-metre freeboard wave allowance – for wind setup and wave run-up on the shore – to be too low. He said it is more appropriate to set the allowance at two metres, the height of the waves that caused significant damage to the Silverton breakwater on May 28, 2001.
“This … would be more reflective of the actual wave action during the high windstorm on Slocan Lake,” he said.
A report on the property states the slopes are well drained and stable, and the proposed building site is above the flood construction level for the lake.
Senior Habitat Biologist Tola Cooper with Fisheries and Oceans Canada feels a reduction in the setback is not acceptable, especially with the riparian area already lacking.
“[This] may set a precedence that will result in increased impacts along the lake,” Cooper said.
Habitat Officer Terry Anderson with the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources also advised against the floodplain setback change.
The building is proposed to be approximately 1,205 square feet, post and beam or log structure with pier and post foundation. It would use a closed septic tank installed near the house and liquid waste would be pumped into a sewage disposal field in the upland section of the lot.”
The Foreshore Fish and Wildlife Habitat Assessment Report available for download!
The recent report entitled “Slocan Lake Foreshore Fish & Wildlife Habitat Assessment including Foreshore Inventory Mapping (FIM) and Aquatic Habitat Index (AHI)” prepared by Galena Environmental Ltd. dated May 2011, is now available on this website. Vist our new page “Reports” to view or download your own copy.
Contact the Slocan Lake Stewardship Society
The SLSS can be contacted by 1) filling in any on the “comment” boxes on this website. (your input will not show on the site until authorized by us, so note if you would like it to remain confedential) 2) e-mail us at slocanlss@gmail.com 3) talk to any of the members of the Board of Directors noted on the “About the Society” page on this website.
We are interested in your input to our society. If you would like to have any issue brought up at a Board meeting, please send us your concerns 5 days befor any meeting to ensure it gets on the agenda. Please see “Meetings and Minutes” page for dates.
The SLSS encourages participation in water related events. This spring the BC Lake Stewardship Society is hosting a conference on May 13-15 at Salmon Arm, BC. The SLSS is prepared to cover some costs for four members to attend. Please watch the BCLSS website at http://www.bclss.org/ for information on the cconference and contact the SLSS as noted above, if you are interested in attending and/or sharing rides.
Report on 2010 Water Study
2010 Water Quality Study
The fall phase of the study water quality and coliform counts has been completed and the report is available here for you to read. Click the image to view the full report.
The Slocan Lake Stewardship Society
OUR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
2008 Slocan Lake Baseline Study:
• 5-week Water Quality Program
• Nearshore Coliform Sampling at 7 sites within Slocan, Silverton, New Denver, Rosebery & Hills.
• Off shore Sampling for physical & chemical components
• Public report & presentation
• Fish inventory mapping
Foreshore fish and wildlife habitat assessment & mapping
Public report & presentation
2010-2011 Slocan Lake Creel & Angler Survey:
Collecting fishing information from 8 different access points on the lake
2010-2012: A 3-Year Water Quality Monitoring Program:
• Nearshore Coliform Sampling at 7 sites at Slocan, Silverton, New Denver, Rosebery & Hills.
• Off shore Sampling for physical & chemical components and zooplankton. Monthly sampling from 12 different depths for temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, & total dissolved solids.
Public report & presentation to community & area schools
2008-present Monthly Water Sampling for temperature and turbidity, incorporated in BC Lake Stewardship Society’s database of BC lakes
OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH 2007 – 2010
• Public Information Sessions
• Columbia River Treaty 2012
• Climate Change in Columbia Basin
• Watercraft & Boating Safety
• Bannock Point Restoration
• Lake Lies & Fishy Tales – May Days storytelling
• Lake issues member, Advisory Planning Commission for North Valley Official Community Plan
• Joint session with BC Parks regarding loss of Valhalla Park Rangers
• Distribution of water sampling kits
• Establishment of website for lake monitoring reports
• Presentation to S.V. Chamber of Commerce
• Information Booth at Hills Garlic Festival & North Valley Mountain Film Fest
• Mounting of Slocan Lake panorama photos for public display
OUR WORKING PARTNERS
• Ministry of Environment
• Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans
• Regional District of the Central Kootenay
• Municipalities of Slocan, Silverton & New Denver
• New Denver Marina Society
• BC Lake Stewardship Society
• Galena Environmental Ltd.
OUR FUNDING PARTNERS
• Columbia Basin Trust
• Ministry of Environment
• Regional District of the Central Kootenay
• DFO
• Shell Canada
• Columbia Power Corp.
OUR FUTURE PLANS & PROJECTS
• Shoreline Restoration
• Slocan Lake Management Guidelines
• Slocan Lake Bathymetric Map
• Kokanee Study
• Bonanza Marsh Preservation
• Species at Risk Identifi cation
• Terrestrial Wildlife Shoreline Habitat Assessment
• Art projects and lake monitoring with area schools
We can be reached at
Box 322, New Denver, BC V0G 1S0
