Twinned Watershed Project: Executive Summary – Koksilah River Environmental Flow Assessment

Water holds a prominent place in culture, science, policy, community values and recreational pursuits. Yet, it remains undervalued in comparison to the role that it plays in society and in the cycle of life in the Cowichan Valley, British Columbia. To explore the importance of water in the Xwulqw’selu Sto’lo (Koksilah River), an Environmental Flow Assessment (EFA) was performed.

To investigate the environmental flows of the Koksilah River, several assessments, each complementing one another, were conducted between April and October of 2021. The three assessments included (i) an evaluation of channel condition, (ii) an evaluation of water supply, and (iii) an evaluation of instream habitat-flow relationships for rearing Coho and Steelhead fry in addition to looking at Chinook passage through riffles.

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