SSI FreshWater Catalogue - Larlow Creek (LRCK)

SSI FreshWater Catalogue

SSI, SOUTH Watersheds

Larlow Creek (LLCK) Watershed Notes - W̱ENÁ¸NEĆ (Fulford Bay)

- Isabella Point Rd., Grants Corner area -

Last update 2022/01/07

SSI South Area - overview watersheds (colour coded, CRD, 2018) & watershed note areas

South Island, "Larlow Creek" ("LRCK") Watershed

From our ongoing South Island, Freshwater Cataloguing - notes on the "LRCK" 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. Additional volunteers in this area would be great!

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 extracts from our monthly FWC "Which Creek Is It" Competition, from our Salt Spring Island FreshWater Catalogue Watershed Stewardship Group Facebook page, with "field note" addendums where additional FWC/other information has become available. Additional volunteer resources and research, for the development of watershed notes content, will enable us to do more!

General Watershed & FWC Creek Information:

The November 2021 Which Creek Is It (WCIT) competition creek was Larlow Creek in the south island "Larlow Creek" (LLCK) watershed, on the south-side of the Fulford Valley. Field images for this WCIT are from watershed and creek locations around Grant Corner (Isabella Point Rd.).

Larlow Creek comprises a single, surface freshwater, (creek) outflow, discharging into Fulford Harbour, and is one of a number of Fulford harbour-facing, south-central island watersheds discharging into the harbour area. The area is the field domain of a developing FWC "Fulford Harbour Watersheds" (FHW)* watershed (ocean, freshwater and land) stewardship group [Cf. a FHW Local Detail map, under development]!

Larlow Creek is one of a number of watershed creeks, north and south of the harbour, that discharge into Fulford Harbour. Fulford Harbour comprises a partially constrained, and tidally influenced bay (or estuary). The coastal and marine aquatic systems of this harbour area are strongly influenced by the discharge of Fulford Creek (the principle island creek system), and likely to be impacted by the other FHW creek systems discharging into this area.

Larlow Creek is a significant Salt Spring island watershed, with the “odd”, odd outflow creek chemistry…. SSIFWC baseline data acquisition from Larlow Creek and the other FHW watersheds started in summer 2018 with an early “seven creeks in seven watersheds” FreshWater Catalogue 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 is probably less than one dozen….

With some 3 1/2 years of weekly FWC flow and chemistry data and some 2,000 data points from the Fulford Harbour watershed area (Cf. SSIFWC webmap for watershed and site details] and, at one watershed site 24/7 data collection via a data logger, we are starting to develop insights into what makes the various watersheds in the area (and the Fulford Estuary systems) tick….

In addition to this Fulford Harbour, Larlow Creek watershed note, other watershed notes in this FHW stewardship area are in the works. FWC project data collection objectives in Larlow, 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). We aim to capture (catalogue) flow and chemistry data that will improve our understanding of the (surface and groundwater) systems that maintain Fulford 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.

Larlow Creek In the News?

Larlow Creek was in the news in 2021, as a result of a November "Atmospheric River" event. Perhaps the most visually dramatic of the island's creeks and watersheds impacted by this two day, 10-15cm rain event?

The Larlow Creek (LLCK) Watershed

Larlow Creek (LLCK), and the associated watershed, is in the beautiful Fulford Valley area, on the southeastern flank of Hope Hill (a part of the Tuam range). Larlow Creek is the single watershed, surface creek, freshwater flow outlet discharging to the sea in the mid-reaches of Fulford Harbour.

The LLCK watershed is moderate in size, some 189 hectares (468 acres) in size, significantly larger than the adjacent Fern Creek watershed, immediately to the north, and somewhat larger than Geralds Creek watershed further to the north. The upland, slope and coastal Larlow Creek watershed catchment area means that this watershed captures (and discharges) a significant volume of precipitation
The LLCK watershed’s size is not in-significant (about a ninth of the largest watershed on the island). In terms of it's Ha size this watershed is “up-there” with Okano (central-north island) and Monty Creek (central island) with a broadly equivalent watershed size
From a potential watershed catchment flow and discharge volume the LLCK watershed receives something like 1,794,550,000 litres (474,088,000 gallons) of rainfall (precipitation, or surface water) per annum (water volumes are approximate with no consideration of surface/terrain conditions, nor rainfall variability within the catchment area)
The upper watershed area remains largely forested the intermediate slope (terrace area) is largely cultivated
There is limited surface (or subsurface) water abstraction from the LLCK watershed, ca. 10 known wells and no licenced springs.
Known freshwater licences for the 9178 watershed might be available here http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/wtrwhse/water_licences.input by entering a “stream name”. However, the linked BC water licences report treats all of SSI as a single watershed, so it is not possible to “pull” all freshwater licences in the “LLCK" watershed.

Historical & Other Watershed Insights:

TBD

Note - any other local insights, or interested in contributing to the historical/other notes on our islands' watersheds, including this one(!), please contact the SSIFWC Project Lead.

FWC "Citizen Science" Watershed Notes - Reporting:

As at 2022/01 we have over three years of FWC data from Larlow Creek (some 200+ data points). The watershed's Larlow Creek is perennial, having a single, year-round surface freshwater outflow at Grants Corner. Larlow Creek shows the classic signs of in-stream groundwater (base flow) contributions through the year, including: year-round creek flow, and an inverse relationship between water temperature and air temperature, though groundwater related conductivity vs flow relationships seen in some adjacent watersheds (eg Geralds Creek) are not apparent.

The seasonal variability seen in a number of the islands creeks is present in Larlow Creek. However, spikes seen in the conductivity data suggest a possible, local, anthropogenic overprint to creek flow/chemistry. These random(?) chemistry spikes are not seen in other FWC sampled creeks, which suggests the phenomena = may not be road maintainance (salting) related...
Larlow Creek data illustrates an inverse relationship between water temperature and air temperature (air warm water cool and vica versa), the result of groundwater temperature remaining relatively constant during the course of the year, while air temperature changes seasonally.
Measured Larlow Creek conductivities indicate seasonal variability in contributions from rainwater (winter, groundwater dilution) vs groundwater (summer, groundwater dominated). However, a Larlow Creek conductivity vs flow correlation, seen in other island creeks (cf. examples Gerald Creek, Soule Creek etc) is non-existent. This lack of an obvious surface-groundwater correlation suggests (currently) no mechanism to calculate the seasonal variability in a groundwater baseflow and total inflow flow into the stream at the sea-outfall.

Collecting more data (and closely monitoring measurements and measurement device calibration) may help to refine our understanding of the Larlow Creek “spikes”, and perhaps provide insights into the lack of any flow - chemistry correlation/relationship in this watershed. Well, groundwater, data acquisition may provide additional insights - TBD.

FWC Images and Videos:

Larlow 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:

Barnett et al., 1993., Salt Spring Island Water Allocation Plan.
Howe K., & Allen D., 2020., Linkages between Stream Chemistry and Groundwater Chemistry, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, SFU.
Salt Spring Island Parks System Master Plan, Salt Spring Island Parks and Recreation Commission.

And... check out the developing Fulford Harbour Stewardship Facebook group!

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