Tofino has a vast history that has started thousands of years ago with the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations (“Discover the History of Tofino, B.C. - Info Guide to Tofno” 2021). They inhabited Clayoquot Sound and surrounding areas for roughly 5,000 years. They inhabited the west coast of Vancouver Island as well as the northern tip of Washington State. Societal staples included cedar, salmon, and whales (Schwantes 1996). They would also fish for cod, halibut, shellfish, as well as sea lions, and seals. Three Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations called Clayoquot Sound their home: the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht, and Tla-o-qui-aht. The Tla-o-qui-ah First Nation is in the southern end of Clayoquot Sound, and occupied areas near Kennedy Lake, Kennedy River, and up Tofino Inlet. The main Tla-o-qui-ah village is located across from the harbor in Tofino, called Opitsat. Pre-non-European settler population was roughly 15,000 for the Nuu-chah-nulth on the West Coast of Vancouver Island (Schwantes 1996). The readily available resources from the land and ocean made an ideal location for supporting large populations. Red cedar was used for houses, transport, and clothing, while salmon was the main food source (Schwantes 1996).

The first non-native settler, named Juan Josef Pérez Hernández, arrived on what was called Clayoquot Island, which was also referred to as Stubbs Island, in 1774 (“Discover the History of Tofino, B.C. - Info Guide to Tofno” 2021). Although this was not the first non-native to Clayoquot Sound, they were the first to the surrounding Tofino area. The first trading post was established in 1855 by British Colonial William Banfield, and 2 businessmen. This would bring disease and an avaricious and assimilative political agenda to the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations (Horsfield and Kennedy 2014). From there the population of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations people started to decrease in size. In 1905 the first doctor arrived in Tofino, and in February of 1932 Tofino was established as a village municipality. Tofino mostly consisted of people of Norwegian, English, Scottish and First Nation descent. In 1923 people of Japanese descent began to travel out towards Tofino. It mostly consisted of single men, but as time went on many people began to bring their families out with them. During the Second World War, the way the government treated Japanese Canadians drastically changed with confiscating their boats, treating them as enemies, and deportation. During the time of deportation, the population of Japanese Canadians in Tofino was 100, which was 1/3 of the normal population in Tofino. Even after the war was over, the prejudice towards Japanese people did not die down by not allowing Japanese people to live within 160km of the coast until 1949 (Horsfield and Kennedy 2014).

In 1942, RCAF Station Tofino was built 11km away from the settlement and was decommissioned in the 1950s and eventually became Tofino Airport (Horsfield and Kennedy 2014). Since travel was hard across Vancouver Island, a logging road was established from Port Alberni to the coast. After this road was established logging in Clayoquot Sound increased to the point where in 1985 environmental activists began to oppose the logging happening in Clayoquot Sound. This began because MacMillan Bloedel, which was a logging company, began clear cutting Tofino and the surrounding area (Brownlie 2016). With the influx of logging, the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations were not consulted like they should have been. The companies did not deem it necessary to consult the First Nation which then brought national attention to Clayoquot Sound. These protests were known as the "War in the Woods" In 1993, the government released a new Forest Practice Code, which included tougher regulatory enforcement, audits, and clear-cutting restrictions and fines (Brownlie 2016). After not being properly consulted in the initial agreement, the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council and the BC government came to a conclusion that the Nuu-chah-nulth bands will manage over 60,000 cubic meters of Clayoquot Sound for logging, and a long-awaited land claim for the Nuu-chah-nulth (Brownlie 2016).

In 2000, Clayoquot Sound was recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO due to the diverse range of ecosystems that exist (Clayoquot Sound). After becoming a Biosphere Reserve, the local economy started to shift their dependency from industrial fishing and forestry to environmentally friendly practices guided by the Nuu-chah-nulth (Brownlie 2016).

References:

Brownlie C. 2016. Clear-Cutting of the Coastal Temperate Rainforest: A Brief Analysis of Clayoquot Sound. Center for Development and Strategy. 2016(1).[accessed 2021 Jun 5]. http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1528/clear-cutting-of-the-coastal-temperate-rainforest-a-brief-analysis-of-clayoquot-sound.

Castleden HE. As sacred as cedar and salmon: A collaborative study with Huu -ay -aht First Nation, British Columbia into understanding the meaning of ‘resources’ from an Indigenous worldview [Ph.D.]. [Canada]: University of Alberta (Canada). [accessed 2021 Jun 5]. http://www.proquest.com/docview/304793390/abstract/3D6E4E6726984E33PQ/1.

Clayoquot Sound | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. [accessed 2021 Jun 7]. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/europe-north-america/canada/clayoquot-sound.

Cramp B. 2017 Nov 7. A Century of Protest. Galleries West. [accessed 2021 Jun 8]. https://www.gallerieswest.ca/api/content/3d573410-c050-11e7-bf99-121bebc5777e/.

Discover the History of Tofino, B.C. - Info Guide to Tofno. Tofino Info Vacation Guide. [accessed 2021 Jun 4]. https://www.tofino-info.com/history/.

Horsfield M, Kennedy I. 2014. Tofino and Clayoquot Sound: A History. Harbour Publishing.

Moore, Dene M Sarah. 2014. Commercial fishery decision victory for Island First Nations | Times Colonist. [accessed 2021 Jun 8]. https://www.timescolonist.com/business/commercial-fishery-decision-victory-for-island-first-nations-1.808733.

Schwantes C. 1996. The Pacific Northwest: An Interprative History. University of Nebraska Press. 568 p.

Thornburn, M. 2018 May 23. Tofino | The Canadian Encyclopedia. [accessed 2021 Jun 4]. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tofino.

Vanchieri, N. 2011 Feb 14. Environmentalists defend old forest in Clayoquot Sound, B.C., Canada, 1993 | Global Nonviolent Action Database. [accessed 2021 Jun 5]. https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/environmentalists-defend-old-forest-clayoquot-sound-bc-canada-1993.

There are two main outfalls in the District of Tofino where untreated wastewater is being discharged. The First Street Outfall was installed in the 1980s and discharges 579 meters offshore (Howland 2014). The Cedar Street Outfall was installed in the 1990s and discharges 450 meters offshore (Howland 2014). Both systems discharge into Duffin Passage and in the same general area. The Duffin Passage area is of high value for recreation, shellfish harvesting, and fishing. Permanent closure of shellfish harvesting exists for a 300-meter radius around these outfalls to protect humans from pathogens that can accumulate in the shellfish (Howland 2014). Water testings in these areas have found fecal coliform levels that exceed water quality standards but at depths below the surface, so recreation has not been impacted (Howland 2014). This area is also important ecologically with many rare or endangered species found living in or visiting these waters. Some of these animals include Stellar Sea Lions, Grey Whales, Caspian Terns, Marbled Murrelets, and Killer Whales (Howland 2014). Two Marine Protection Areas are located not far from where these outfalls discharge, the Tofino Mudflats Wildlife Management Area and Vargas Island Park (Howland 2014).

In August 2019, the District of Tofino announced that it was awarded funds from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program for a wastewater project that would include improvements to the existing infrastructure as well as a new wastewater treatment plant (DOT 2020). This was an important step for the community who have worked hard to protect the environment in Clayoquot Sound but as a small community, did not have the financial ability to cover such a large and expensive project. This is the largest investment in infrastructure in the history of the district (DOT 2020).

Unfortunately, Tofino later found that the estimate for the project of roughly $54 million was no longer accurate and the investment would need to be closer to $84 million (Bailey 2020). Bob MacPherson, Tofino’s Chief Administrative Office, told Westerly News that the pandemic was to blame for at least part of the gap between the initial and most recent estimates. Without funding, the project could not proceed, and that put Tofino in violation of Canada’s Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations as of January 1, 2021 (Bailey 2020). Options for the district are limited to either asking the government for more funding or reevaluating the entire project while looking for ways to cut costs. Taxing the residents is not a viable option since significant tourist activity in the summer easily doubles the population of Tofino. The number of people using the wastewater system annually and the number of people that would be financing this project are highly disproportionate. It may be some time before this project is once again underway and the wastewater from the District of Tofino is being treated.

Meanwhile, based on the most recent data we were able to obtain, an average of 1,490 cubic meters of untreated wastewater is entering Duffin Passage each day (DOT 2018). In 2017, monthly flow peaked in July at nearly 78,000 cubic meters. This was significantly higher than the maximum monthly flow in 2016 at just under 51,000 cubic meters in August (DOT 2018). Average daily flows and population data for 2014-2016 were collected from the District of Tofino’s 2017 Solid Waste Management Plan (Bennett 2017). The population of Tofino is growing and the average daily flows year over year reflect that growth and are also on the rise. The average daily flow during the high season, May to October, was 1310 cubic meters in 2014 and 1520 cubic meters on average per day were recorded in 2016 (Bennett 2017). In 2014 during the low season, November to April, the average daily flow was recorded at 1084 cubic meters, and in 2016, low season flows reached an average of 1267 cubic meters (Bennett 2017).

To put the wastewater flow data into perspective, we looked at the freshwater discharge rate for Tofino Creek that we had collected for 2015. The average daily flow of water into Tofino Inlet from Tofino Creek was about 586,700 cubic meters (EC 2021). With several more sources of freshwater entering the system, we can see that the wastewater discharge is very small in comparison. In Tacoma Washington, where our university is located, nearly 73,000 cubic meters of wastewater are treated each day for a population of 212,000 people (EPA 2019). The amount of wastewater entering Duffin Passage may be insignificant compared to freshwater flows, but the location of the outfalls, the wastewater being untreated, and the seasonal changes in the population, are what make the system ineffective for the District of Tofino.

Data source for water and sewage flows was from the District of Tofino in 2018. The data is no longer publically available.

References

Bailey A. 2020. Tofino will miss sewage treatment deadline, seeks more funding. Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly News. [accessed 2021 Jun 5]. https://www.westerlynews.ca/news/tofino-will-miss-sewage-treatment-deadline-seeks-more-funding/.

Bennett A. 2017. Liquid waste management plan stage 3. report no: D-B1201.00.

[DOT] District of Tofino. 2020. Tofino evaluates options for wwtp. [accessed 2021a Jun 5]. https://tofino.civicweb.net/filepro/document/105673/2020-07-17%20Tofino%20Evaluates%20Options%20for%20WWTP.pdf.

[DOT] District of Tofino. 2020. Tofino liquid waste management plan. [accessed 2021 Jun 5]. http://tofino.ca/lwmp.

[EC] Environment Canada. 2021. Daily discharge graph for Tofino creek near the mouth (08HB086) - water level and flow. Government of Canada. [accessed 2021 Jun 8]. https://wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/report/historical_e.html?stn=08HB086&dataType=Daily&parameterType=Flow&year=2015&mode=Graph&mean1=1&scale=normal.

[EPA] Environmental Protection Agency. 2019. EPA invites Tacoma and Seattle to apply for $115 million in loans for wastewater projects. US EPA. [accessed 2021 Jun 8]. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-invites-tacoma-and-seattle-apply-115-million-loans-wastewater-projects.

Howland P. 2014. Tofino outfall environmental impact study & marine outfall assessment.

Tacoma - Place Explorer - Data Commons. [accessed 2021b Jun 8]. https://datacommons.org/place/geoId/5370000?utm_medium=explore&mprop=count&popt=Person&hl=en.