LangleyAdvance
Seniors drama fun pg A15
Your community newspaper since 1931
Friday, August 27, 2010
Your source for local sports, news, weather, and entertainment: www.langleyadvance.com
We’re in Your Backyard
Audited circulation: 41,100 – 36 pages
Arid summer leaves creeks bone dry
AT 20645
Langley By-Pass 604-514-1406
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ICBC claim? Press one:
or Doug McFee is worried that the dry summer has dried up streams in Langley earlier than usual.
Waterways disappear as the dry conditions leave Langley with little surface water. www.dbmlaw.ca 604.534.2131 Good advice. Good law. Good people.
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quickly in July,” McFee said. Some creeks, like Anderson, have dried up every year for many years. But this year’s summer drought seems to have been especially hard on the creeks. The numbers tell the story. by Matthew Claxton According to David Phillips, mclaxton@langleyadvance.com senior climatologist at Weeks of lower than average Environment Canada, rainfall rainfall have left Langley streams levels are way down from their dry as a bone, or reduced to seasonal averages. shrinking puddles. Rainfall records at the Doug McFee, head of the Abbotsford Airport showed a Salmon River Enhancement drier than normal June, with Society, is worried that streams 50.6 mm of rain this year, comaround Langley are drying up pared to an average of 78.9 mm. earlier than norIn July, the mal, damaging the drought intensified. “The only habitat of fish and Just 1.2 mm of rain other wildlife. fell, compared to water here is “The only water an average of 50.2 in the fountain here is in the founmm. tain and the washand the As of Aug. 25, a rooms,” he said total of 11.3 mm washrooms.” this week at Noel has fallen, comBooth Park. Doug McFee pared to an average Anderson Creek of 39.8 mm. runs through the The low rainfall Brookswood Park, but right now levels in July were close to a recthat stretch of the river is dry. ord for the Lower Mainland, said Shallow pools, with a few fish Phillips. left in each one, are separated With little to no rain falling by hundreds of feet of dry rocks. from the sky, the only source of Yet during the rainy spring and rainwater is the aquifers under summer, the stream can run up the ground. They feed streams to two or three feet deep and up through springs, often in the to 10 feet wide through the same sides of ravines. stretch. However, local environmental“I’m told it dried out pretty ists have been raising the alarm
Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance
for years about the dropping around Langley in the early to levels of some local aquifers, mid-20th century by farmers especially the Hopington, which and settlers. Some of them were underlies the Salmon River and never capped, even after they portions of several other major were abandoned. They dribble streams in Langley. water onto the surface, where it At Yorkson Creek, streamis lost to evaporation. keepers and members of the McFee is also worried about Langley Environmental Partners continuing development. If too Society (LEPS) did a fish rescue much of an area is covered with in mid-July as the buildings, it prestreams dried out. vents rainwater “It drives the About 600 fry from soaking were rescued into the ground fish further and from shrinking and replenishing further down the pools of water and the aquifers and creek, and a lot moved on July 14 streams. and July 21, said Some neighof them will die.” Nicolas Walser of bourhoods, like Nicole Walser LEPS. Brookswood, are While this isn’t relatively good at the first year LEPS soaking up water, has conducted a salmon rescue, while more urbanized areas have another is being considered a problem absorbing water. because of the lack of rainfall. Three years ago, Langley sufThe creek is continuing to dry fered through a similarly dry out, said Walser. summer. “It drives the fish further and The effects of that summer on further down the creek, and a lot the salmon fry in the stream will of them will die,” he said. be seen next year, said McFee. While there’s nothing that can The coho salmon returning to be done about rainwater, McFee the Fraser in 2011 are the fry is hopeful that the declining that had to live in dwindling, aquifers can be at least partially warm creeks in 2007. restored. McFee would like to see reguThis fall, Langley Township is lar monitoring of when and to begin a program of locating where creeks dry out, so a baseand capping old artesian wells in line can be established to deterthe Salmon River area. mine if things are truly getting Hundreds of wells were drilled worse over time.