Where/What
O’Donnell Creek is the major creek that flows into Elk/Beaver Lake in the municipality of Saanich. Elk/Beaver Lake is a sports minded lake, shared by swimmers, fishers & boaters. It is also the venue for our Olympic rowing teams.
How
Several years ago, the GRR Club led by Member Frank Darlington created the O’Donnell Creek Project. This Project was to clean up the creek by over a 7 year period building bridges & cattle crossings, and depositing gravel in the stream bed for fish to spawn. Keeping cattle out of the creek improved the quality of the water creek and subsequently in the lake.
Results
Coliform counts plummeted & the lake became safer for swimmers. The algae bloom was also reduced, thus making the lake more enjoyable for all.