Council approves $ 150,000 for shoreline plan

Three- year plan to employ greater wave protection, lower- tidal reefs to protect profile of beaches

The District of West Vancouver has allocated $ 150,000 for the preservation of its shoreline.

The three- year work plan, approved by council this week, is a continuation of a foreshore protection strategy originally implemented in 2005.

“It’s not just good work, it’s worldrenowned work,” said deputy chief administrative officer Brent Leigh, discussing the transformation of several West Vancouver beaches through the program.

Due to budget constraints, staff requested less than the original funding target of $ 200,000.

Aside from district money, the shoreline protection plan has been largely funded by waterfront property owners, who have donated more than $ 4 million for various pilot projects.

The restoration of the foreshore at Lawson Pier has been accomplished through soft engineering techniques such as sub- tidal reefs and underwater boulder collections.

Several beaches have lost sediment due to the seawall, which has exacerbated erosion by sending waves back with great force.

“A shoreline plan is a living plan,” said Adrian Rowland, who prepared a peer review on the district’s shoreline protection plan.

The West Vancouver Shoreline Preservation Society has employed man- made reefs to deposit creek sediment on the beachfront, raising the elevation of beaches in several pilot projects.

Sub- tidal speed bumps for waves, called tombola, have also been used at Navvy Jack Point to protect the beach’s profile.

The work is largely opportunistic, according to Leigh.

He said supplies, such as rock, are usually donated from construction sites.

Some of the goals of the protection plan include improving salmon access to creeks, improving public access, and offering greater wave protection.

This year’s projects include a reef and boulder garden at Marr Creek at Dundarave seawall.

As well, lower- tidal reefs from Lawson Creek to Mcdonald Creek will be added to help widen the foreshore.

Navvy Jack Point and Lawson Creek are also slated to be worked on this year.