Brothers Creek Watershed
Summary
Characteristics:
- Third largest watershed in West Vancouver
- Originates on southeast side of Hollyburn Ridge and includes several small lakes and wetlands in the headwaters. Flows southeasterly to southerly through forested mountainside before it enters the urban area of the British Properties at the northwest corner. Brothers Creek continues in a southeasterly direction, passes under the Upper Levels Highway and through the Cedardale urban area, gathers flow from East Brothers and Hadden Creeks, before it discharges into Capilano River just upstream of Marine Drive
Watershed Use:
- Residential
- Capilano Golf Course on Hadden Creek, Hollyburn Winter Club between main and west arm of Brothers Creek, Hollyburn Ridge Nordic ski area in headwaters
- Cedardale Elementary School, Westcot Elementary School, Chartwell Park, Cypress Provincial Park
- Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, Cutthroat trout, Rainbow trout, Steelhead
- Wildlife: variety of large and small mammals, birds and amphibians
Concerns:
- Classified as endangered by Fisheries and Oceans Canada due to the effects of urbanization such as channelization and large amount of impermeable areas
- Impassable culverting upstream of Taylor Way, and the channelization of creek and loss of tributaries through urban area
- Water quality altered through proximity to urban development and storm drain discharge, potential for leakages from sanitary sewer lines crossing the creek
- Human predation of fish
- Future urban development, infill development and possible future expansion of commercial Nordic ski area in upper watershed, and associated problems, including an increase in imperviousness, loss of wetlands and tributaries, construction of storm drain network resulting in altered water quality and quantity, encroachment into riparian zones, tributary channelization, bank alteration, and increased erosion into creek
Watershed Projects:
- Streamkeeper activities: spawner surveys and fry release from 1997, and water quality sampling, 1999
- Drainage system inventory, 1998
- Restoration: fishway or culvert baffles installed and habitat improvement completed on West Brothers Creek in 1998, Hadden Creek in 1997, McBeth Tributary in 1997, Brothers Creek in 1997, and Brothers Creek in 1977
- Environmental study of Brothers, West Brothers and Hadden Creeks 1997
- Biophysical inventory and assessment, 1994, 1984 -1992, 1980
Prepared by Catherine Sherlock