Province won’t fund aeration to deal with toxic algae in Quamichan Lake

Environment ministry says responsibility is with North Cowichan

By Robert Barron

The Municipality of North Cowichan shouldn’t expect any direct funding from the province to help pay for aeration methods in efforts to deal with Quamichan Lake’s ongoing problem with toxic blue-green algae blooms.

In a letter to council, George Heyman, B.C.’s minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, said the government appreciates the ongoing efforts of North Cowichan to manage water quality and algae blooms in Quamichan Lake.

But he said the financial responsibility of using aeration to help deal with the algae in the lake falls to the municipality.

“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy does not provide funding to support the establishment and maintenance of oxygenation or aeration systems,” Heyman said.

“Generally, these projects are considered municipal infrastructure and thus the responsibility of municipalities.”

There had been at least four reported dog deaths around Quamichan Lake in 2016, and all are suspected to have been caused by ingesting toxic blue-green algae from the lake.

Tests and studies of the lake were conducted, and several strategies were suggested to deal with the issue; including aeration, chemical treatments, flushing the lake with stored and/or diverted water, mitigating in-flowing water using zeolite and limestone in creek beds, and dredging the bottom of the lake.

Council decided at a meeting in 2022 to hire a consultant to assess the costs and benefits of aeration, in which air would be used to oxidize the approximately 32 tonnes of releasable phosphorus in the sediment at the bottom of the lake, and asked the province if it would be willing to take on some of the financial responsibilities of the project.

In his letter, Heyman recommended that North Cowichan follow up with the Real Estate Foundation’s Healthy Watersheds Initiative, which was provided with a $100 million grant from the province as part of the establishment of the foundation’s Watershed Security Fund.

“This grant is considered independent from government funding,” he said.

“We would suggest engaging with the HWI to discuss specific criteria for funding, which is being developed in collaboration with Indigenous communities.”

https://www.cowichanvalleycitizen.com/local-news/province-wont-fund-aeration-to-deal-with-toxic-algae-in-quamichan-lake-7285403?mc_cid=bfb0026759