MEMORANDUM - Portage Inlet Linear Park Beach Investigation

MEMORANDUM

October 27th, 2020 To: Ian Bruce RE: Portage Inlet Linear Park Beach Investigation

On October 17th at 10:30 AM, I went to Portage Inlet Linear Park Beach (48.4635013, -123.4252227) at the end of St Giles Road to investigate nourishment opportunities. I had been there before, but the beach was completely submerged during higher tides. Being there at a low tide on October 17th, I found the beach to be heavily eroded which has resulted in a beach of hard packed clay, sediment, and rock. Like many other beaches in the Gorge Waterway, it has been heavily degraded and is in need of nourishment for a number of reasons.

• It will protect against erosion and sea-level rise
• It is aesthetically more pleasing to visitors
• It will provide habitat for a number of animals including some fish who spawn on sandy beaches

Once the beach was confirmed as a degraded beach in need of nourishment, I took some measurements to see just how much material would be needed to nourish the beach.

The beach is 14.2 metres long and is (on average) 7.1 metres wide. I took a number of width measurements from the bank to the toe of the beach site and took the average. Overall, we would aim to have the material on average 0.5 metres deep. Therefore we would need about 50 cubic metres of material.

Overall, this would be a great pocket beach to nourish based on what was discussed above. As well, once the beach is nourished, it will not disappear entirely at higher tides and will be a great spot to land watercraft, relax or if you are a forage fish, spawn. I would recommend this beach for nourishment.

Sincerely,

Brian Koval, MSc, RPBio Briankoval1987@gmail.com Peninsula Streams Society Biological Coordinator 778.350.0510