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In August 2023 Walley Creek Streamkeepers joined other groups in a tire wear toxin monitoring program run by BCCF in collaboration with VIU. You can read all about it here. We sample before, during, and after rain events to look for presence of a short-lived compound found in road runoff that's lethal to Coho. All results of this monitoring program can be found on the BCCF interactive database. In 2023 we sampled Walley Creek at two locations - Morningside Park and the RDN GNPCC. Both locations showed between 3 - 11 ng/L of 6-PPDQ. and 6-PPDQ was found more often at the upper of the two sites, where Walley Creek flows past the GNPCC. In August 2024 we looked at the storm drain inputs for Walley and decided to add a site just downstream from where two storm drain outfalls enter Walley Creek, behind Pipers Pub. We'll stop monitoring in Morningside Park, since there's no new storm water input below Shores Drive. The upper site is near a large piece of property that will soon be developed into housing. Monitoring behind Piper's Pub will allow us to see how the development impacts the creek.
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The Walley Creek Streamkeepers were understandably worried in August 2021 when we heard that the property beside Pipers Pub (4670 Hammond Bay Rd.) was was for sale. Our group formed when a similar high density subdivision on Hammond Bay Road was granted a development permit within the watercourse protection area. We've since heard that those homes have problems with flooded basements during rain storms, despite sump pumps moving water out. The property beside Piper's Pub contains two important wetlands associated with Walley Creek, which manage flow and filter the water as it flows downstream. For development near wetlands a 15m setback is the default, and the Development Permit Area guidelines outline more details on what is required on specific sites. You can read the City of Nanaimo's description of their watercourse protection here. In February 2023, when the property sold, we streamkeepers wrote a letter to Mayor and Council on behalf of our group, and encouraged concerned neighbors who contacted us to do the same. A development permit for 4670 Hammond Bay Rd. was approved by City Council on July 8, 2024. To see it, go to What's Building in My Neighborhood, and type 4670 as the address and Hammond Bay into the next drop-down box. Make sure the "show inactive" box is ticked above, then click on the S that comes up on the map.. Two pages of the permit are included below for reference. To our great relief, the developer is not planning to create any road access to Hammond Bay through the wetland or across the creek. Also, the wetland areas have been protected as parks, and the riparian area boundary is being respected. What a difference from the last development in our watershed, and an important step to protecting all the plants and animals that thrive in this healthy ecosystem! Our group was formed when each of us independently contacted the Nanaimo & Area Land Trust wondering if any work was being done to steward Walley Creek in North Nanaimo. One of our members lives right where Walley Creek reaches the ocean in Hammond Bay; for decades she has watched and tended the stream, concerned by garbage washing downstream and the lack of care for the riparian integrity. The Executive Director of NALT, Gail Adrienne put us in contact, and we started by asking our local Fisheries and Oceans Community Advisor to help us. Biologist Dave Clough spent time with us walking the upper watershed, near Springfield Place, and the lowest part of Walley Creek, where it empties into Hammond Bay near Morningside Drive. We came up with a long list of priorities for further research and restoration activities, including:
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