$176M permanent salmon fishway at Big Bar landslide delayed: DFO
Construction of a $176 million permanent fishway to help salmon populations get past the Big Bar landslide will be delayed, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The landslide in B.C.’s Southern Interior is believed to have happened in late October or early November 2018, but it wasn't discovered until June 2019.
The incident created a five-metre waterfall that's preventing many fish from swimming upstream to spawn. Work on site has been ongoing ever since.
In a technical briefing Wednesday morning, landslide response director Gwil Roberts said there had been delays at the site during the winter. Extreme cold weather meant crews had less time to prepare for installation of the permanent system.
“Then we had a freeze-thaw period where we had very quick changes, -10 degrees celsius overnight and then +10 during the day,” Roberts said. “That created some instability on the slope where teams were preparing the bed for the fishway.”
As a result, Roberts said the fishway “will not be installed by May 2022 as planned.”
The pricey project was announced in December, with the department saying work would “begin immediately to take advantage of low river levels in winter.”
Fisheries officials say they expect thousands of migrating salmon to still be able to pass through the site this year thanks to temporary structural changes, including a “nature-like” fishway.
Michael Crowe with Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the fishway is “performing as hoped" and chinook salmon are able to make it through the slide zone without many problems. Though early arrivals of sockeye salmon remain vulnerable in high waters.
Work will also continue this year to transport fish via truck around the slide zone, while the tube system, or “salmon cannon” will not be used. Roberts said it was not technically feasible.
“When we did a cost benefit analysis of that system, it did not make sense so we decided to focus on our truck and transport system this year,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.