Community Watershed Monitoring

Updated on July 22, 2025

Community Watershed Monitoring

What is the Community Watershed Monitoring Network?

It's a partnership between the RDN's Drinking Water and Watershed Protection (DWWP) program, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV), Island Timberlands LP (managed by Mosaic Forest Management), and many amazing community watershed stewardship groups in our region.

The RDN provides the equipment and works with ENV to complete annual training and data analysis. ENV contributes expertise in water quality testing, deciphering gathered data and guidance in program direction. Mosaic Forest Management sponsors the lab analysis costs for Quality Assurance and Quality Control, loans volunteers' safety gear, and provides access to the upper watersheds. Dedicated community groups donate their time, attending annual training sessions, calibrating equipment and getting out on their local streams to collect and monitor water quality data.

Resources

Hach Turbidimeter - training video

Watershed Stewardship Network

Stewardship Seed Funding Support

Tool Lending Library Equipment

2023 Report - CWMN Data Analysis Technical Memorandum

Riparian Analysis Map

Drinking Water and Watershed Protection Program Reports Database

Water Budget Project

Data collection, like physical assessments and water chemistry tests are reported on. These inform our actions, including stewardship, outreach and policy. Engagement that comes from this action helps to encourage more data collection; a cycle we call the Community Watershed Monitoring Network.

Why monitor watersheds?

To expand on the provincial database, collect enough data to see watershed trends and raise watershed health awareness in local communities. The long term objective is to use multiple years of data to determine which watersheds require more detailed monitoring and/or improved watershed management and to assist in land use planning. Data is collected for turbidity, dissolved oxygen, temperature and conductivity for 67 sites in 26 watersheds across our Region.

Additional lab analysis has and continues to be completed to further investigate what potential contaminants are associated with water quality exceedances observed in the data collection. In 2014 eleven sites in northern RDN waterways were sampled for E.coli and Phosphorus, in 2015 eleven sites in southern RDN waterways were sampled for E.coli, Phosphorous and metals, and in 2019 with nine sites sampled for Chloride (as a proxy for road run-off) and twelve sites sampled for Phosphorus (as a proxy for agricultural run-off). Further sampling for nutrients was completed in 2021 in-partnership with ENV in areas with upstream agricultural land-use.

When does watershed monitoring take place?

Monitoring occurs once a week for 5 weeks in the summer low flow period (August - September) and once a week for 5 weeks in the fall flush period (October - November).

Who is responsible for watershed monitoring?

The 15 environmental stewardship organizations and Streamkeepers currently and previously involved are:

Stewardship Organizations table
Stewardship Organizations	Maps
Cat Stream Stewards - for more information email stewardship(at)nalt.bc.ca	Map of monitoring sites for CSS
Fanny Bay Salmonid Enhancement Society	Map of monitoring sites for FBSES
Nile Creek Enhancement Society	Map of monitoring sites for NCES
Qualicum Beach Streamkeepers Society	Map of monitoring sites for QBS
Friends of French Creek Conservation Society	Map of monitoring sites for FFCCS
Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society	Map of monitoring sites for MVIHES
Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society - Nanoose Group	Map of monitoring sites for MVIHES Nanoose Group
Island Waters Fly Fishers	Map of monitoring sites for IWFF
Departure Creek Streamkeepers	Map of monitoring sites for DCS
Walley Creek Streamkeepers	Map of monitoring sites for WCS
Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute	Map of inactive monitoring sites for VIU MABRRI
Nanaimo and Area Land Trust	Map of monitoring sites for NALT
Gabriola Streamkeepers	Map of monitoring sites for GSk
Wexford Creek Streamkeepers - for more information email bcopeland3(at)gmail.com	Map of monitoring sites for WxCS
Quennell Lake Watershed Stewardship Society - for more information contact the Ecoforestry Institute via email cheryl.bancroft(at)ecoforestry.ca	Map of inactive monitoring sites for QLWSS

Where does watershed monitoring happen?

There are 40 streams currently monitored by trained volunteers, these include:

Rosewall Creek
Cook Creek
Deep Bay Creek
Thames Creek
Nile Creek
Big Qualicum River
Annie Creek
Upper Cameron River
Cameron River
Little Qualicum River

Whiskey Creek
Harris Creek
Grandon Creek
Beach Creek
French Creek
Morningstar Creek
Morison Creek
Swayne Creek
Shelly Creek
Upper Englishman River

Englishman River
Centre Creek
South Englishman River
Craig Creek
Nanoose Creek
Knarston Creek
Bloods Creek
Walley Creek
Upper Millstone Creek
Millstone River

McGarrigle Creek
Departure Creek
Cottle Creek
Chase River
Beck Creek
Richards Creek
Cat Stream
Holden Creek
Nanaimo River
Mallett Creek
Wexford Creek

After three years of sampling, each site's results are reviewed and testing at sites with consistently good water quality is suspended for three to five years. This allows resources to be used to expand the network, adding sampling at new sites where needed.

CWMN Active sites per group CWMN Active and Non-Active Sites 2023