Cultus Lake – From Dave Clyne, Chair, Cultus Lake Stewardship Society (CLASS) – Cultus Lake Stewardship, and in coordination and discussion with the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low-Carbon Innovation, Mr. Bryan Kirkness, FVRD Director Taryn Dixon and Cultus Lake Stewards, there have been various improvements at the Kirkness Pacific gravel property on Vedder Mountain this summer.
These include:
- the road inside the gravel pit has been completely paved.
- connection on the property with BC Hydro so the generators can run 24/7, which
improves the effectiveness of the flocculant devices in the holding ponds. Flocculants
remove the gravel fines (quarry rock dust) that are suspended in the water and so ease
the process of filtration. - two new holding ponds of maximum size have been added to the three existing
ponds so five ponds are now in use. - flocculant agents have been added to two new areas at one new pond.
- before being weighed, trucks go through a wheel wash and the dirty water empties
into a holding pond. - the wheels and undercarriage of the loaded trucks are misted after being weighed
and before starting the downhill trip. - several new berms have been made throughout the area to keep the fines out of the
forest and streams. Rip rap has been added as another means of filtering the fines out
of the water. - Installation of extensive silt fencing [3-4 feet high] with rock gravel between the
fence and the edge of the pavement. The rain and fines drain through the
gravel. Build-up of fines against the fencing may need to be cleared.
Future planned improvements:
- Spray using water jets to replace misting tires and undercarriages to remove more
debris from trucks. - a speed bump at the washing station to clean truck wheels and undercarriage more
thoroughly.
