Volume 25, Number 1 Spring, 1997
FEATURING:
THE GREATER VANCOUVER REGIONAL DISTRICT WATERSHED
| EDITOR: Inessa Ormond-Twiss |
WATERSHED LOGGING COSTLY FOR SEATTLE A SERIOUS ERROR EXPERT'S OPINION
Vancouver Advised to Avoid Making the Same Mistake
Vancouver Sun, Saturday, September 27, 1924
Time has demonstrated that Seattle made a serious error in selling a large part of the timber in the catchment area of the watershed from which its water supply is derived.This is a summary of the views of George F. Russell, superintendent of the board of public works, Seattle, in a letter to C. Brakenridge, city engineer, who requested information regarding the experience of the neighboring city.Mr. Russell reports that a large part of the timber in the catchment area was sold several years ago under contract, the claim being that the timber was becoming ripe, a good deal of it being infected and that the sale would realise funds for the betterment of the water system.
"Time has demonstrated that this was a serious error," said Russell. Soil depths on the mountains is not great, he explained. Removal of timber results in rapid erosion which bares the hillsides of the surface soil. The soil is washed down, filling up the basins and depleting the water supply.Streams in denuded areas are flooded in the wet season and almost dry in the summer, the report stated. In forested areas there is as nearly a uniform flow as can be expected in any water course.
"It has been shown by Dr. Ebermeyer of Munich that forest soil is unfavorable to the production of pathogenic bacteria, said Mr. Russell, "such as cholera, typhus, malaria, and yellow fever germs. The humous acid, which develops from decaying vegetation and the tannin which leaches from the leaves have aseptic properties....
Watershed Management: Public Input at the Regional Government Level
What People Need to Know About Where Their Water Comes From
... old growth forests provide the purest water ...
Risk Management: The Effects of Roads, Clearcuts, And Machinery On Our Watersheds
... Plantations, until they reach 60-80 years in age, have a higher fire hazard rating than the old-growth forests they have replaced. ...
WATERSHED CHRONOLOGY
... The Water District's mandate is to prohibit logging in the watersheds. (1926) ...
... About 5,000 hectares (13,000 acres) of mostly old-growth forests have been clearcut from the watersheds. (1994) ...
Bottle Deposits: Getting to the Root Cause of Waste
... The soft drink oompanies have spared no expense and have done everything in their power to stop the spread of deposits to other states and provinces. ...
Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI) Carries NAFTA One Step Further!
The Fall of the Wooden Wall: Earth Friendly Architecture
... Cob buildings challenge the conventional notions of industrial progress by providing an alternative that is sustainable as well as fun. ...
Down to Earth Building Bee - Bella Coola, BC
... This summer in Bella Coola, on BC's mid-coast, members of SPEC and the Nuxalk Nation will collaborate in building a cob structure on the banks of the Bella Coola River. ...
Pesticides and Your Health
... Researchers cite an 11-fold increase in insecticide use over the last 30 years, while crop losses due to insects have doubled! ...
Campaign for Pesticide Reduction
Tiger, Tiger
... If we cannot save the tiger, which so many people admire, what can we save for the future? ...
Let's Not Waste $1.6 Million on Burrard Street
Transportation Today
... Air pollution, noise, congestion, accidents, and the land consumed by roads and parking severely hinder attempts to improve the quality of urban life. ...
E-mail SPEC with your comments or questions: 
enviro@spec.bc.ca