Learn more about
the project

	Project Background
	Project Purpose
	Pilot Project
	Environmental Assessment
	Public Consultation

Then and Now

View maps and photographs of Burnaby Lake and see how both human and natural encroachment have impacted the lake over the years.

The Pilot Project

In the late 1990's, a pilot project was conducted to determine if it was feasible to dredge the lake. This successful project was the framework for the current project. Learn more ...

Background and Overview

Being in the centre of the Brunette Basin watershed, Burnaby Lake acts as a basin for sediments transported by the various creeks in the area. The sediment infilling is slowly allowing vegetation to encroach further into the lake and decrease the availability of open water area and the biodiversity of the park ecosystem. Eventually the lake will become a marsh-like terrestrial environment reducing habitat for a number of aquatic species. Additionally, Burnaby Lake will no longer be suitable for lake-based recreational and organized activities.

To improve the environmental conditions of Burnaby Lake and enhance recreational opportunities, the City of Burnaby is proposing to rejuvenate the lake by dredging to remove accumulated sediments and thereby preserve the lake’s open water areas. The proposed dredging of Burnaby Lake provides a rejuvenation program that enhances environmental values and creates sufficient open water to support recreational and organized activities such as an international scale rowing event.

Rejuvenation Program History

In 1997, the City of Burnaby, in cooperation with the GVRD and the Fraser River Action Plan, commissioned a study on the environmental impact of dredging Burnaby Lake for the purpose of environmental rejuvenation. This study (ENKON 1997) concluded that there are several possible disposal alternatives for the dredgeate and several dredging techniques that could be considered for the project. A recommendation of this report was that the City undertakes a pilot-scale dredging program before initiating any full-scale dredging program, in order to collect more information that would allow a better understanding of the technical feasibility and environmental implications of dredging Burnaby Lake. Therefore, in 1999 the City of Burnaby and the GVRD initiated a pilot dredging program.

The 1999 pilot dredging program was conducted at the west end of Burnaby Lake near the mouth of Still Creek. Results of this program indicated that a full-scale dredging program of Burnaby Lake was technically and environmentally feasible. In September 2000, Burnaby City Council approved a dredging concept that would involve removing up to 320,000 cubic metres of sediment from Burnaby Lake over a two-year period.

In January 2001, Burnaby City Council authorized a comprehensive environmental assessment program to evaluate a potential dredging program, including dredging the lake to international competitive standards. The technical studies completed as part of this assessment addressed the following topics:

• engineering
• park use
• fish
• wildlife
• vegetation
• sediment
• water quality
• benthic invertebrates

These studies were used to support an application to the BC Environmental Assessment Office for project approval. A Project Approval Certificate was issued in 2002.

Technical studies for this environmental assessment included:

• engineering,
• park use,
• fish,
• wildlife and vegetation,
• water quality, sediment quality, benthic invertebrates, and plankton.

A comprehensive public consultation program was conducted to inform the public about the project, the possible management options, approach and results of the technical studies, and to gather public feedback on the studies. The public review process indicated that there was strong consensus that some form of dredging was considered desirable. There was, however, a varied opinion regarding the preferred level of dredging with cost and mitigation measures being the influencing factors.