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[wildmanyeah]

https://www.mapleridgenews.com/news/pressure-for-fish-passage-at-maple-ridge-dam-mounts/


"Now is the time to push B.C. Hydro for a fish passage around the Alouette Dam according to the president of a local river management society and a Maple Ridge city councillor.

At the end of 2018, B.C. Hydro has a water licence coming up for review and Ken Stewart, president of the Alouette River Management Society and Coun. Gordy Robson, would like to see the water comptroller make the building of a fish passage as part the new permit.

“Not to look at fish passage, but to build fish passage with a determined time frame,” said Stewart who joked that he would like to see a fish passage built in his lifetime."

[Steelhawk]

For that matter, why not have a fish passage (ladder) on the Coquitlam River too to bypass the dam? About time to restore the vitality of these urban rivers totally 'damned' by BC Hydro, LOl.

[wildmanyeah]

For that matter, why not have a fish passage (ladder) on the Coquitlam River too to bypass the dam? About time to restore the vitality of these urban rivers totally 'damned' by BC Hydro, LOl.

I believe the Coquitlam system would be far more costly to put in a fish way. However, Cost has never been the issue. The 3 or so million for the Alouette fish ladder could be easily raised. The problem lies with BC Hydro lack of approval or should we say will.  The water flow would have to be managed differently.

Would of been nice if our provance would of made BC hydro complete this fish ways as part of the Site C project but what done is done.


http://www.tricitynews.com/news/group-hopes-to-bolster-coquitlam-river-sockeye-1.2359089

Group hopes to bolster Coquitlam River sockeye

"Consultants with experience in designing and constructing fish passages have looked at the site and a proposal will be presented to BC Hydro for more research and a possible solution this fall.

"We think it's entirely feasible to resurrect this run [but] we need an engineering fix right now," said Orr, who noted that the company R2 Resource Consultants has designed fish passage structures in the U.S.
For example, some dams have a system that creates a current drawing salmon to an outlet to the river. However, a Coquitlam River solution could be as simple as raising the water level at the Coquitlam dam and creating specially designed outlet for the fish to depart, Orr said.

"Those are the kind of experiments that need to be done along with the engineering feasibility of how to get these fish out.""

[Steelhawk]

That is good news for the depleted Coquitlam River. About time to restore this river for fish population. Some old timers told me that years before the sockeye and steelhead runs on the Coquitlam were great before that darn dam was built by Hydro and before those gravel pits were allowed to operate. The dam was built without much consideration to fish population. If it were today, it would never have a chance to be built without a fish passage.

[RalphH]

While installing a fishway around both dams - and possibly around Ruskin as well - is a good idea, people shouldn't fool themselves into thinking this will 'fix' these rivers. Much of the good spawning beds are probably underwater now and what's left could be quite marginal.

[wildmanyeah]

While installing a fishway around both dams - and possibly around Ruskin as well - is a good idea, people shouldn't fool themselves into thinking this will 'fix' these rivers. Much of the good spawning beds are probably underwater now and what's left could be quite marginal.

While I agree with you that may be the case for the lake spawning sockeye that certainly is not the case for the chinook that would spawn in gold creek [where they have found chinook fossils].

Also without the fish way addition projects like adding spawning beds similar to thoes at weaver creek would not be possible. We aren’t playing for short term gratification but for salmon to return over the next 100 years.

Can’t speak for the other systems

[RalphH]

yes but much of the historic bed of Gold Creek is under Alouette Lake. I don't think what remains is particularly good spawning gravel. After many years of reclamation work it could be a small run of one or 2 hundred or less.

But I still think it'll work it & hope for the best!

[wildmanyeah]

yes but much of the historic bed of Gold Creek is under Alouette Lake. I don't think what remains is particularly good spawning gravel. After many years of reclamation work it could be a small run of one or 2 hundred or less.

But I still think it'll work it & hope for the best!

Probably better of then offing some seals. Bullets are cheap and im sure 1 seal eats more than 200 fish in a year.  Definitely more bang for your buck.

[RalphH]

there is nobody alive today or for the last 40+ years who could remember what the Coquitlam was like before the dam as the first dams were built around the turn of the last century. Fish access into the reservoir ended in 1915 with the completion of a large earth and rock dam that raised the water level more than 21 meters over the natural level of the lake. Two things have really damaged the Coquitlam - the on going diversion of water out of the reservoir  to Buntzen Lake and the disastrous gravel mining operations which is what destroyed the fishing that existed in the river before about 1960.

http://www.coquitlamriverwatershed.ca/coquitlam-riverdam