SSI, CENTRAL Watersheds
Hwumet’utsum - Maxwell Creek (MXCK) Watershed & Maxwell Lake "Notes"
- Cranberry Valley, Maxwell Road, Collins Road -
LAST UPDATE 2022/11/28
SSI Central Area - overview watersheds (colour coded, CRD, 2018) & watershed note area
Central Island, Maxwell Creek Watershed (MXCK), and the Maxwell Lake sub-watershed
From our ongoing Central Island, Freshwater Cataloguing - notes on the Maxwell Creek (MXCK) watershed (Hwumet’utsum area), and the Maxwell Lake sub-watershed supporting Maxwell Lake. Cf. the SSI FWC webmap for field locations and charted information (where available).
The content of these "Notes" entries is dependant on the information that is currently available, from FWC volunteer work, FWC reporting or from other sources. Limited FWC data is available across the watershed area. The WPS, as a part of the freshwater catalogue programme, are collaborating in a developing Transition Salt Spring (TSS) Ecoaction forest and watershed restoration project in the Maxwell Lake sub-watershed area.
Note - if you have additional insights into this area (the watershed, it's creeks or wetlands), can help with site(s) access, or are interested in being involved in data collection for this project area, please contact the SSIFWC Project Lead.
For now these watershed notes draw heavily on limited field data acquired from FWC field reconnaissance observations. With the initiation of a Transition Salt Spring Maxwell Creek watershed EcoAction study and TSS-WPS, FWC collaboration the watershed field dataset available for review and interpretation will grow.
General Watershed & FWC Creek(s) Information:
The Maxwell Creek Watershed (Hwumet’utsum area) is located in the Central Salt Spring Island area, with an important "Maxwell Lake sub-watershed area" lying within southern part of the larger watershed area. This lake sub-watershed provides an important component of the North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) area surface freshwater supply system, with freshwater abstraction operational since 1914. The combined NSSWD supply systems (Maxwell Lake and St Mary Lake in the Duck Creek watershed in north island) providing potable water to about 5,500 customers on Salt Spring Island (ca. 50 % of the islands population). The remainder of the island's users obtain their freshwater supplies from the surface/subsurface in the form of groundwater (cf. wells in watersheds), and/or from smaller water districts/supply systems, and/or from local creek/spring abstractions (cf. Island Black Pipes).
A small, north-side Maxwell Lake area is managed by the SSI Water Preservation Society.
The Maxwell Lake watershed is located on the North and East faces of Mount Maxwell (Hwumet’utsum). Local "sub-watersheds" watershed drainage (Rippon and Larmour "watersheds")) have been modified to support supplemental, seasonal, Maxwell Lake water recharge in support of NSSWD supply. The Maxwell Lake centric (lake sub-watershed) creek systems, and other watershed creek systems downstream, contribute to Maxwell Creek at it's sea outfall.
Ongoing TSS - FWC baseline data gathering field work will improve our understanding of the surface/groundwater flow and chemistry variability within a local detail Maxwell Lake sub-watershed area, with a particular focus determining in-creek flow and chemistry variability (and groundwater contributions?), and turbidity levels (sediment loading) that may impact Maxwell Lake. Establishing a freshwater, baseline field programme supports the ongoing TSS Ecoaction Maxwell Lake Watershed Restoration project, investigating potential changes in freshwater systems as a result of any planned restoration efforts.
Further watershed-wide field work is needed to improve our understanding of all elements of the larger Maxwell Creek watershed, to facilitate the development of an overall water balance availability for this island area, and to understand the impact of summer no-flow on the Maxwell creek(s) ecosystems. .
Note: NSSWD Maxwell Lake sub-watershed area is a protected watershed area, public access is not permitted.
Maxwell Creek - Tributary F, is located in this Central Island, Maxwell Creek (MXCK) watershed. This creek is a key (seasonal?) feeder stream discharging into the main Maxwell Creek system upslope of it's sea-outfall, but is downstream of the Maxwell Lake sub-watershed (ie it does not support surface flow into lake). The Maxwell Creek watershed - Tributary F Creek (Andrea Creek?, Cermak, 2013) was our April 2022 Which Creek Is It (WCIT) competition entry (images taken from the Maxwell forestry road, close to Foxglove Farm) and the Maxwell Creek watershed sea-outfall was our May 2019 WCIT entry (images taken from the central island west coast shoreline, site accessed from Collins Road).
Maxwell Creek watershed setting (Lidar backdrop), and Maxwell Lake sub-watershed areas (Nordin et al., 1982; NSSWD, 2021)
The Maxwell Creek watershed
The Maxwell Creek (MXCK) watershed is the fourth largest watershed on the island, some 803 hectares (1983 acres) in size. The watershed is larger than the Central Island, Stowell Creek and smaller than the North Island, Duck Creek (which includes the NSSWD managed St Mary Lake sub-watershed
The watershed receives something like 7,623,750,000 litres (2,014,201 gallons) of rainfall (or surface, freshwater) per annum (freshwater volumes are approximate with no consideration of surface/terrain conditions, nor rainfall variability within the catchment area)
The Maxwell Creek watershed captures significantly less volume than the Duck Creek watershed, the island's third largest watershed.
The Maxwell Creek watershed has a number of creek systems, in sub-watersheds above and below the lake, with creek drainage paths partly modified by engineering works.
At the coast a single "Maxwell Creek" is the single creek outfall in the watershed and is seasonally dry... Winter creek outflow data from the watershed are not currently available.
Within the watershed area are approximately 25 groundwater wells. The deepest drilled well located within this region was/is 201 metres (660 feet; Hodge, 1995) a single water licence for the lake is subject to withdrawl restrictions if NSS WD demands are higher (Barnett et al, 1983)......There are a small number of licensed springs.
The Maxwell Lake sub-watershed is a key part of the Lake Maxwell aquifer sub-region.
Maxwell Creek watershed, uplands Maxwell Lake sub-watershed area, spring, wetland and creek images
The Maxwell Creek watershed - Maxwell Lake sub-watershed, uplands
The Maxwell Lake sub-watershed is the site of a principle SSI surface water abstraction. This lake, together with St Mary Lake (both serviced by the North Salt Spring Island Water District - NSSWD) contribute to freshwater supplies for some 45% of the island's population, the remainder of the islands freshwater resources come from wells and/or other, smaller, island community freshwater supply systems (or Districts).
The total licensed withdrawal limit for Maxwell Lake to the NSSWD water system is 663,729 m3 per year. NSWWD hold water licences to store up to 1,077,642 m3 at Maxwell Lake. The current the total physical storage at the lake is 819,000 m3 (NSSWD, 2020)
Seasonal diversions of re-engineered "Rippon" and "Larmour" creek-paths within the sub-watershed support lake recharge
Estimates of lake flushing, to replace the entire volume of freshwater in Maxwell Lake, are estimated at some 1.7 years (Nordin, et al., 1982) or ca 8 years...,
Maxwell lake is an example of a large lake (the second biggest terms of a standing volume) in a small watershed area (or basin; Sprague, 2009).
Maxwell Creek watershed, downstream Maxwell Creek area, outfall creek images
The Maxwell Creek watershed - downstream, vicinity Maxwell Creek outfall
The lower reaches of the main Maxwell Creek drainage system "Maxwell Creek" contain anadromous fish habitat, with discrete (trout) fish populations likely associated with the lake. There is no estuarine habitat demarcated at the creek's coastal outfall (Cermak et al., 2013).
There are currently no licence requirements for minimum conservation flows downstream in Maxwell Creek (NSSWD, 2021).
Historical & Other Watershed Insights:
A short history of the Maxwell Lake (sub-watershed) area and it's use as an island freshwater resource is available on the NSSWD website. Further information on this watershed is available in the Other Local Resources list below.
Note - any local insights, or interested in contributing to the historical/other notes on our islands' watersheds, please contact the SSIFWC Project Lead.
FWC "Citizen Science" & Other Watershed Notes - Reporting:
To-date there is no established FWC reporting for this watershed. Further local data collection in this area would provide improved insights into how this watershed (and it's related freshwater ecosystems) work, are impacted by seasonal (or climatic…) changes, and will help with an improved understanding of how surface water catchments in the watershed contribute to aquifer recharge and local island water resource availability...
A scoped and ongoing (2022 - ) Transition Salt Spring (TSS) - FWC freshwater field "local detail" field programme is developing a Maxwell Lake sub-watershed field, baseline dataset. This field data collection aims to determine how freshwater (hydrological) systems within the sub-watershed may be impacted by future watershed restoration/remediation work. The selected, local detail, sampling sites selected, address, (above and below the through-going Maxwell Road):
documenting seasonal lake inflow creek(s) volumes (and investigating seasonal surface/groundwater baseflow contributions)
determining turbidity variability within the watershed (lake inflows) area (natural and/or?)
*understanding factors controlling phosphorous distribution (natural and/or culverts...)
*establishing a field programme suitable for monitoring phosphorous levels (baselines at selected sites, upstream downstream of culverts), scope TBD
Interested in being involved in this important island watershed area, and this TSS - FWC project, please contact the SSIFWC Project Lead.
SSIFWC Maxwell Creek watershed - collaobrative project area and sampling sites
FWC Images and Videos:
Maxwell Creek Watershed & TSS CARL FWC collaboration field images. Note - all FreshWater Catalogue images & videos copywrite belongs with the WPS and the FWC. We are grateful for due acknowledgement of copywrite in any use or publication of these educational resources.
Other Local Area Resources:
Nordin, R. N., McKean, C. J. P., Boyd, I. T., 1982., Water Quality of Lake Maxwell, Salt Spring Island., File 0328526. Ministry of Environment.
Barnett et al., 1993., Salt Spring Island Water Allocation Plan.
Hodge, W. S., 1995., Ground Water Conditions on Salt Spring Island.
Sprague, J. B., 2009., Nine Lakes on Salt Spring Island, B.C.; Size, Inflow, Precipitation, Runoff and Evaporation.
(Cermak, 2013) Willmott, T. Lange, J, and Morgen, J., 2013., Salt Spring Island Riparian Area Regulation Stream Identification - Bullock, Fulford, Maxwell, Stowell and Weston Watersheds., Madrone Environmental Services Ltd.
North Salt Spring Water District (NSSWD)., 2020., Maxwell Lake, Rippon Creek and Larmour Creek Watersheds Water Availability – 2020 Update.
North Salt Spring Water District (NSSWD), cf. website History of North Salt Spring Waterworks, Hydrology Reports.
Transition Salt Spring (TSS) - Maxwell Watershed EcoAction project Reducing Climate Risks in the Mt. Maxwell Creek Watershed Salt Spring Island.
Salt Spring Archives, Place Names.