SSI FreshWater Catalogue - Weston Creek (WSCK)

SSI FreshWater Catalogue

SSI, CENtral Watersheds

Weston Creek (WSCK) Watershed "Note" - W̱ENÁ¸NEĆ (Fulford Bay) area

- Myers Road, Beaver Point thro' to north side Fulford Harbour -

LAST UPDATE 2022/11/07

SSI Central Area - overview watersheds (colour coded, CRD, 2018) & watershed note area

Central Island, Weston Creek Watershed (WSCK)

From our ongoing Central Island, Freshwater Cataloguing - notes on the Weston Creek watershed area. 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. A big thank you to our FWC volunteers for contributions in this 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 notes draw heavily on extracts from FWC stewardship group field work (including that from our local island, Local Detail project areas), from our monthly FWC "Which Creek Is It" Competition and from our Salt Spring Island FreshWater Catalogue Watershed Stewardship Group Facebook pages, with "field note" addendums where additional information has become available. Additional FWC volunteer resources for this area will enable us to do more, and further build our watershed stewardship community!

The data collected from our FWC "Local Detail" field work in the Weston Creek watershed gathers seasonal(?) flow and chemistry baseline data - investigating variations in watershed upland sources, Weston Lake (groundwater) inflows, and the Weston Creek watershed discharge to the sea. These data elements form key components of any planned watershed/areal water budget or water balance work in this important "community" watershed, in addition the data collected has potential uses for validating areal groundwater recharge potential models (cf. Gorski and Sacré, 2019).

Well freshwater chemistry data is being collected at several watershed sites, to investigate further, surface (groundwater base flow) water to groundwater calibration, and potential correlations between chemistry (groundwater inflow) flow volumes in surface creeks (cf. Howe and Allen, 2020).

FWC data was made available to (and utilised in) the CRD 2022, Weston Lake watershed water budget study.

General Watershed & FWC Creek Information:

The Weston Creek (WSCK), or "309" Watershed is located in the Central Island area. Within this watershed multiple, largely seasonal(?) small creeks feed into the Weston Lake, and from the lake (and watershed) is a single creek outfall-to-sea. Weston Lake is the surface water supply system for the CRD managed Fulford District water supply.

The FreshWater Catalogue (FWC) February 2020 Which Creek Is It (WCIT) competition creek SSIFWC Watershed Stewardship Group Facebook images were of Weston Creek, close to its sea outfall. The December 2020 Which Creek Is It (WCIT) competition creek Facebook images were from a NW Weston Lake ("E1") creek inflow location. For regular news updates on the FreshWater Catalogue, Weston Creek Watershed, area visit our Weston Creek Local Detail Project Facebook page.

The coastal and marine aquatic systems of Fulford Harbour area are partially influenced by the freshwater discharge of Weston Creek, and other watershed creek systems discharging into the bay. Weston Creek comprises a single, surface freshwater, watershed outflow or discharge to the sea, and is one of a number, associated with watershed catchment areas and sea discharges north and south of the harbour. These freshwater systems form part of the Fulford Harbour ecosystem - a partially constrained, and tidally influenced bay (or estuary).

Fulford Harbour is an important part of a developing FWC "Fulford Harbour" watersheds group, FHW for short, a developing land and ocean estuary stewardship group [cf. a FHW Local Detail map, coming soon]!

FWC baseline data acquisition from Weston Creek and the other FHW watersheds started in summer 2018 as a part of an early “seven creeks in seven watersheds” FWC field data collection programme. Prior to this FWC field work the number of known, measured field sites, and discrete site samples for this area of the island, probably totalled less than one dozen….

With some 4 1/2 years (2022/10) of weekly FWC flow and chemistry data, two key, regular, surface sample locations , in excess of 1200 location (flow and chemistry) points from the Weston Creek watershed (cf. SSIFWC webmap for watershed and site details], and the recent addition of well chemistry data recording, we are starting to develop insights into what makes this watershed tick. The regular (ca weekly) field & well sampling has been supplemented at two sites with the installation and 24/7 data collection from Hobo data loggers.

In addition to this Fulford Harbour, Weston Creek watershed note, other watershed notes in this FHW stewardship area are in the works. FWC project data collection objectives in Weston Creek, and others in Fulford Harbour, the largest island watershed freshwater flow collection area, are in-line with those associated with science investigations that are a part of our broader island watershed(s) stewardship data collection efforts (eg Xwaaqw'um, Madrona Creek, Cable Creek). The project aims to capture catalogue water features and measure flow and chemistry data to improve our understanding of the (surface and groundwater) systems that maintain Weston Creek, and the associated estuary and harbour system(s).

If you are interested in being involved in the field work, or research in the Fulford Harbour Watersheds area (creeks, wetlands, groundwater wells etc.) please contact the SSIFWC Project Lead for further information.

WSCK watershed overview (Lidar backdrop), Weston Lake context and Weston Lake water depths in m (Nordin,1986)

Weston Creek (WSCK) Watershed:

At it's seaward termination Weston Creek is the single, surface outfall for the Weston Creek watershed, downstream of Weston Lake. Located downstream of Weston Lake this outfall creek location receives a “blend” of Weston Creek watershed creek inflows and spring waters (see details below), with Weston Lake controlling creek freshwater blending! The result of in-lake blending is that at the Weston Creek outfall location water temperatures closely follow ambient air temperatures - a function of the seasonal (cold - warm) fluctuations in the lake upstream. Creek chemistries at the outfall are variable (think random mixing of discrete cocktail components in a glass - the lake, from inflow creeks upstream.

The principle water body in the Weston Creek watershed is Weston Lake, one of the island's larger “Nine Lakes”. This largely natural lake is the potable water resource for the Fulford Water System supply and a large number of the Fulford Village Homes (no “city” water here!).
Weston Lake is the fourth largest lake on SSI, with a smaller drainage catchment area. The maximum lake water depth is around 11m. A significant number of natural and agricultural modified wetlands around the lake support natural ecosystem services.
Weston Creek is one of the “moderate” watersheds on the island, some 484.6 hectares (1197.4 acres) in size.
The WSCK watershed receives something like 4,603,700,000 litres (1,216,100,000 gallons) of rainfall (or surface water) per annum.
The WSCK watershed area has a moderate groundwater well density (> 360 registered wells), with local areas of well concentration. The watershed has small number of licensed springs, and local community input suggests in addition a number of springs emerging within Weston Lake.

Historical & Other Watershed Insights:

Barnett et al., (1993) indicate that the Weston Creek watershed outflow is "zero" during the summer months (FWC work suggests continuous, though very low flow seasonal flow and potentially low lake inflows). A single "Spencer" spring may also contribute to lake inflow. The creek system supports cut-throat trout. Significant weir obstacles at the Weston Creek coastal outfall suggest that the migration of ocean (anadromous) fish is unlikely, at the present day...

Anecdotally local sources suggest that Weston Lake has a series of in-lake springs that feed the lake from the lake floor. These lake-floor springs would contribute to the lakes' general "poor ice-skating conditions" - in the winter these springs would release groundwater that is warmer than the ambient lake temperature (which closely follows air temperature). Sources also indicate that "unseasonal" variations in lake level (and the Weston Creek outflow) are likely the result of beaver dam removals... though there are also some interesting alternative ideas "out there" on controls on lake levels(!), cf. our Salt Spring Island FreshWater Catalogue Watershed Stewardship Facebook Group.

Weston Lake water level monitoring is currently ongoing as part of a SSIWPA run surface freshwater lake monitoring project on selected SSI Lakes.

The Weston Lake Water Budget study (CRD, 2022) is now available. This Lake Weston Water Availability and Climate Change Assessment useuse available spatial data to yield derivative data products such as the recharge potential mapping... using on-island knowledge of the watershed, licences and processed data from our FreshWater Catalogue community-driven science project, to develop recommendations re Water Availability within this watershed area.

Note - any other 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:

The FWC Weston Creek field locations are important sampling sites for improving our understanding of the Weston Creek watershed's aquatic system health, groundwater recharge potential and water budget/balance. The Weston Lake inflows and the lake outflow are important elements of water budget analysis for the Fulford Water System supply system (a 2022 CRD project).

Weston Creek at it's outfall captures the entire outflow from the WSCK watershed. As at 2022/01 we have 3 1/2 years of FWC data from this site (ca xxx location samples, multiple attributes). For the Weston Creek watershed "local detail" project data density has been supplemented by a combination of higher frequency field visits (Weston Lake outfall - ca. 6-9 months), and by the installation of "specialist kit" - in-creek 24/7 data loggers at key watershed sites - at the Weston Creek outfall and at the "E1" lake creek inflow.

We now have a significant amount of FWC data collection in the larger watershed area. FWC findings to-date indicate that Weston Lake was/is a permanent lake and partly (groundwater fed) creek, with relatively low groundwater (base) flow recharge, even in summer. To improve our understanding of the Weston Lake catchment (particularly during summer) more field work is needed to identify potential, additional (and year-round) Weston Lake creek inflow sites, and to assess further potential for in-lake groundwater recharge(s).

We have four FWC (shallow and deep) well chemistry sampling sites within the watershed.

Weston Creek watershed overview (Lidar backdrop), and various Weston Creek, FWC field creek and lake sampling locations. For "active" FWC field site-specific flow, chemistry and precipitation charting, based on FWC volunteer data collection and SSI school weather station data, cf. the SSIFWC webmap.

FWC field data graphing, from volunteer field acqusitions and installed 24/7 data loggers - examples illustrating data used in developing watershed working models.
For further site-specific "dynamic" charting or access to the field data, cf. the SSIFWC webmap or FWC data access

Weston Creek Watershed FWC Local Detail field sites

The two key Weston Creek watershed FWC field sites "E1" and "Outfall" show significant differences in measured flow and in their chemistry variability through the year. These differences can be largely attributed to the respective field site positions in the watershed. The E1 sampling site being a Weston Lake inflow, upstream of Weston Lake, and the Outfall sampling site being located at the sea discharge from the watershed, below the lake.

Weston Creek Watershed - Lake E1 inflow
Upstream of Weston Lake the sampled "E1" lake-inflow creek shows classic signs (year-round flow, an inverse relationship between water temperature and air temperature, conductivity vs flow relationships etc.) of in-stream groundwater (base flow) contributions through the year, varying with the yearly precipitation cycle.

A clear correlation between creek chemistry and flow at this site allows the definition of the proportion of the groundwater inflow components into this E1 creek. A combination of water level and conductivity data from 24/7 data loggers installed at this E1 site, allow the determination of the groundwater inflow volume into the lake year-round. Given the location of this E1 lake inflow it is possible that the groundwater source is a local spring line along the NE-SW "Weston Lake" fault (cf. Greenwood and Mihalynuk, 2009).

Weston Creek Watershed - Weston Creek Outfall
Downstream of Weston Lake the sampled "outfall" creek chemistries (and groundwater signatures) are partly impacted in-lake freshwater blending, homogenising potential lake inflow-creek (e.g. E1) chemistry variations. At this location usable outfall site measurements are limited to creek (and watershed) discharge-to-sea flow volume measurements (and water quality monitoring). There is a subdued conductivity vs flow relationship at this field site. Water temperature measurements at the outflow site more closely follow ambient air temperature (as is likely with the static Weston Lake waterbody upstream).

A comparison of the Weston creek inflow vs outflow conductivities vs flows, and seasonally elevated conductivities within the E1 creek clearly indicates that the lake inflow creek has a significant groundwater (baseflow) contribution, a groundwater contribution is less apparent at the outfall site.

At the Weston Lake E1 inflow site 24/7 conductivity data logger trend for the shoulder 2021 spring-into-summer flow vs conductivity, illustrates the increasing groundwater (baseflow) contribution to flow (aka increasing conductivity) at this site - we have a methodology for breaking out a percentage groundwater contribution to the lake, through the year (cf. Millson, 2019)!

At the outflow Weston Creek shows striking seasonal variations in flow from >450 l/sec to less than 0.1 l/sec, creating some challenges for viable year-round SSIFWC flow sampling! A 24/7 data logger installation at the outflow site should allow a determination of the year-round total freshwater outflow from the watershed, if acceptable calibration curves are achievable.
If creek flow vs data logger water level values can be appropriately calibrated a staff gauge at this field site will allow local observers to determine flow "real-time".

Weston Creek Watershed - Other Sites
Field data collection is ongoing at other watershed sites and at selected deep/shallow watershed wells. This data will help to identify, and catalogue, additional seasonal creek flow (and chemistry) variability within the Weston Lake watershed catchment areas, and in characterising groundwater creek inflow chemistries from shallow and deep aquifers.

Watershed chemistry data collection for the Weston Creek area is ongoing at several sites. First indications from this limited dataset suggest some interesting insights into groundwater recharge variability in the sampled wells, in particular potential groundwater recharge responses to rainfall events. A two well "WSCK xxx Bulman Rd Deep Well" sample set, from wells some <250m apart, suggests that well responses to "instantaenous" recharge may influenced by "local" fracture networks (and increased shallow-deep connectivity). Fracture network modelling (lineament analysis?), and overburden (shallow aquifer) mapping, may shed some light on potential, local variability in groundwater recharge.

For a current, overview of the Weston Creek watershed sampling sites please use our SSIFWC webmap (and switch on "watersheds" (and other relevant geological and freshwater data features).

2020/09 Weston Lake FWC lake profiling results

To investigate possible in-lake groundwater baseflow within Weston Lake (associated with a through-going Weston Lake NE-SW geological fault; Greenwood) a 2020/09 pilot FWC Weston Lake profiling investigation was undertaken. This pilot survey used a YSR Pro30 (conductivity probe) and ProODO (dissolved oxygen (DO) meter) for lake profiling. Profiling revealed some interesting variations in the lake with depth and area.
Temperatures (21C - 6C) and DO (9mg/l - 0.22mg/l), with indications of an in-lake thermocline may influence Weston Lake water abstractions? Possible "Weston Fault" related in-lake groundwater inflow (conductivities) were not obvious from the lake profiling survey, perhaps as a result of a limited cross-lake sampling? Surface sampling of FWC field locations, in the north of the watershed along the Weston lake fault trend, show no clear indication of Weston Lake fault-line groundwater springs, though groundwater contributions at the Weston Lake inflow creek E1 site may indicate proximity to a spring line?

The Weston Creek outfall, immediate upstream surrounds and freshwater ecosystems suffer from some odd seasonal “surges” in flow. Odd, in the sense that these surges are unlikely to be natural… Anecdotal theories for various “natural phenomena” to describe these surges have been postulated (cf this SSI Community Facebook post. However, most likely, these “spikes” are anthropogenically induced - breaking upstream beaver dams at/near the Weston Lake outfall being the most likely candidate…

FWC Field Data:

Raw and processed FWC field data is available for this watershed. For further details please refer to Data Downloads from the SSIFWC "Data Access" webpage, to review the data available for download please use the SSIFWC webmap.

FWC Images and Videos:

Weston Creek watershed FWC 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:

Want to know more about this watershed area(?), have a look at these local area references:

CRD, Fulford Water System
Nordin, R., N. 1986., The Water Quality of Weston Lake, Salt Spring Island
Barnett et al., 1993., Salt Spring Island Water Allocation Plan.
Hodge, W. S., 1995., Ground Water Conditions on Salt Spring Island.
Greenwood, H. J., & Mihalynuk, M. G., 2009., BC Geological Survey, Open File 2009-11 Salt Spring Island Geology.
Sprague, J. B., 2009., Nine Lakes on Salt Spring Island, B.C.; Size, Inflow, Precipitation, Runoff and Evaporation.
McCullough M., 2011., Anadromous Coastal Cutthroat Trout Habitat Reconnaissance. FLNRO.
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.
Larocque, I. Allen, D. M. & Kirste, D., 2015., The Hydrogeology of Salt Spring Island, SFU.
Gorski, N. G. and Sacré, J. P., (Golder), 2019., Salt Spring Aquifer Mapping and Monthly Groundwater Budget Analysis for Aquifers on Salt Spring Island, sponsored by FLNRO and the MoE.
Millson, J. A., 2020., SSI Foundation Spring 2019 Grant, S2019-11 Water Preservation Society (WPS), SSI FreshWater Catalogue (SSIFWC) 2019-2020 Grant Report.
Howe K., & Allen D., 2020., - Linkages between Stream Chemistry and Groundwater Chemistry, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, SFU.
GW Consultants, 2022., Lake Weston Water Availability and Climate Change Assessment, (page 116) on behalf of the CRD.
Salt Spring Archives, Place Names.

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