Our water from source to tap - watershed area tour
The Capital Regional District (to which Victoria belongs) offers tours every spring of its watershed area, lands that are otherwise not accessible to the public. We signed up, met our guide out in Langford, hopped on a bus, and spent the day discovering how our drinking water is delivered from source to tap. It was fascinating learning about the water supply reservoirs, disinfection process and visiting the protected natural landscapes in the area.
This ‘Community Action’ bus (and friendly driver) will take us from Goldstream Park in Langford, up the Malahat drive to Shawnigan Lake turn off, into the Capital Regional District watershed protected area, and circle back south to finish at the Goldstream area
We found seats close to the front!
The inside of the bus has been creatively decorated over the years of transporting different community groups…
Our first stop - Sooke Lake reservoir (north end)
Serene vista of the Sooke Lake reservoir - magical!
One of our two guides giving us an explanation of the uniqueness of the Sooke Lake reservoir ecosystem…
Into the forest…
We almost stepped on this western road, so camouflaged!
‘Community Action’ bus was a fun way to be chauffeured through the watershed…
The diversity of trees in the watershed is so important, deciduous and coniferous…An explanation of the thinning project being done in the watershed forests
Looking at the low water flow in Rithet Creek from the bridge spanning the creek and above the weir.
Spillway at Rithet Creek weir, one of the major water sources for the Sooke reservoir - so little water…!
Much of the watershed is old growth forest…
Walking back to the bus through the forest of second growth trees.
On a forest walk in the watershed - trees planted 40 years ago with density of 4000 ‘stems per hectare’ - ready for thinning.
Sooke Lake reservoir plan and storage profile.
Sooke Lake reservoir - south end
Intake tower for water supplying all the water for Greater Victoria… it all begins at Sooke Lake.
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Our guide explaining how our water is disinfected…
The Ultraviolet disinfection operation…
Inside the UV building at the Goldstream Disinfection Facility Off the bus and collecting our ‘swag’ at the end of the tour
