INNOVATION November-December 2022

A street view of the re-established estuary and spit. P hoto : T own of Q ualicum B each .

Early construction of the roundabout. P hoto : I sland P acific M apping , islpacmap . ca

environmental monitors, and best management practices were employed for erosion and sediment control, contaminated soils, and work near and within fish-bearing waters. But probably the biggest challenge, said Weir, “was convincing the authorities having jurisdiction that constructing a soft shoreline adaptation on the crown foreshore was the necessary alternative.”

Coordination was also required with multiple third parties, in particular the Regional District of Nanaimo, which has an interceptor sewer running through the area. The construction of the spit involved placing a tremendous weight of material over top of the sewer. Geotechnical drilling and soil sampling were performed to confirm the new load would not cause unacceptable settlement

of the interceptor. A program of location monitoring and condition assessment using CCTV and LiDAR is being conducted at regular intervals to provide a georeferenced point cloud to detect any shifts in the pipe’s geolocation over time. As part of re-establishing Beach Creek, Koers & Associates designed a sediment trap upstream of the Qualicum Beach

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