Wood Creek

Complete Profile

Wood Creek
Watershed
Area: 1.0 km²
Length: 1.8 km
Orientation: Northeast- southwest
Elevation Range: 20 – 290 m

Characteristics:

Fourteenth largest watershed in West Vancouver
Discharges into Eagle Creek, 140 metres upstream of mouth
Two branches; west branch originates in Cypress Park Estates, east branch originates on Caulfield Plateau
Bordered by Eagle Creek watershed to the west and Willow Creek and Cypress Creek watersheds to the east
Watershed almost entirely within urban development
Fifty-eight percent of watershed lies between Upper Levels Highway and Marine Drive

History:

Name first appears in Dayton and Knight report on West Vancouver drainage
Extensive loss of wetlands and obliteration of a section of the creek channel during development of Caulfield Plateau and Cypress Park Estates in mid 1970’s

Watershed use:

Sahalee Trail goes from Westport Road near Eagle Harbour School to Caulfield Plateau, other trails
Two parks: Parc Verdun and Woodburn Park

Fish: cutthroat trout to Westport Road, coho to Keith Road
Wildlife: diverse population of mammal, bird and amphibian inhabit the watershed (ie. otter, raccoon, skunk, mink, great blue heron, kingfisher, American Dipper, ensatina, Western Red Backed Salamander)
Keith Road, Marine Drive, Westport Road, BC Rail

Concerns:

Wood Creek classified as lost by Fisheries and Oceans Canada due to the large amount of culverting and storm drains in the watershed
Water quality:

extensive network of storm drains discharge into Wood Creek periodically resulting in the introduction of pollution
one sewage pumping station at Woodburn Park discharges raw sewage to the creek when broken

large number of storm drains increases peak flow
double culverts under Keith Road splits creek and results in less water available for migrating salmon

Fish barrier: repeated accumulation of debris in the trash racks at Parc Verdun
Channelization in the lower reaches
130 metres of culvert under Keith Road, culverts under Marine Drive, Eagle Harbour Primary School driveway, lower Westport Road, highway, and upper Westport Road

Key Interest Groups:

Federal: Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Provincial: Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks; Ministry of Transportation and Highways
District of West Vancouver, District Parks Department
West Vancouver Streamkeepers
Community associations
Eagle Harbour Yacht Club
School District 45: Rockridge School, Eagle Harbour Primary School
Caulfield Mall
BC Rail
BC Hydro

Watershed Projects:

Digitized map of urban watershed including storm drain network, SHIM website, 2001
Water quality testing, North Shore Streamkeepers, 1999
Spawner surveys, West Vancouver Streamkeepers, 1997 onwards
Stream survey, West Vancouver Streamkeepers, 1997
Stocked with coho and chum fry and pre-smolts, West Vancouver Streamkeepers, 1997 onwards

Available Sources of Information:

Maps: TRIM/UTM 92G034

Web Sites:

http://www.pskf.ca The Pacific Streamkeepers Federation
www.bcfisheries.gov.bc.ca/fishinv/fiss.html Fisheries Information Summary System (FISS)
www.bcfisheries.gov.bc.ca/fishinv/index.html includes FISS, Survey Data, Base Maps, Methods
http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/English/maps.htm includes Fish Wizard, Fisheries Project Registry, SHIM Data with Orthophotos, Wild Threatened, Endangered and Lost Streams of the Lower Fraser Valley
www.shim.bc.ca Sensitive Habitat Information and Mapping

Reports:

District of West Vancouver Drainage Survey, Dayton and Knight Ltd., 1973
Task Force Inquiry into Drainage Policies and Problems. Summary Report. District of West Vancouver, 1977
Lower Fraser Valley Stream Review, Vol. 1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Fraser River Action Plan, 1999
Wild, Threatened, Endangered and Lost Streams of the Lower Fraser Valley, Summary Report. Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Fraser River Action Plan, 1997
North Shore Streams- Nutrient Impacts. North Shore Streamkeepers, 1999