The Elk/Beaver Lake Initiative was established by the CRD in 2016 in partnership with an Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG) to improve water quality at the lake.

Elk/Beaver Lake is the most visited regional park, valued for its variety of environmental, social, recreational, and cultural benefits to the region. Water quality issues at Elk/Beaver Lake were identified in the 1960s and water quality continues to decline, having significant impacts on the environment, social, cultural and recreation values of the lake and surrounding park.

In response to declining water quality, the Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG) was formed to discuss the lake system and develop a strategy to improve water quality. Membership of this group includes the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, Island Health, the CRD, and the District of Saanich. Communications and collaboration with other local interested groups, lake users and stakeholders are ongoing.

At the direction of the CRD Board in 2016, staff also formed the Elk/Beaver Lake Initiative (EBLI) to chair and coordinate actions with the IWG, and local interest groups that would reduce the frequency and toxicity of cyanobacteria, improve fish habitat, manage invasive weed growth and ensure continued recreational use of the lakes. The primary cause of all these issues are high nutrient levels in Elk/Beaver Lake.

This initiative aims to address the source of the issue through the implementation of two plans:

• The in-lake remediation plan which addresses internal sources of nutrients (in lake sediments)
• The watershed management plan which addresses external sources of nutrients in the watershed

The following environmental concerns at Elk/Beaver Lake have been identified and are being addressed through this initiative:

• Frequent cyanobacteria blooms
• Invasive growth of Eurasian Milfoil
• Poor habitat quality for native fish and other native wildlife

The cause of these environmental concerns is largely related to the high nutrient levels in the lake, particularly phosphorus.

High nutrients in the lake come from external and internal sources and significantly impact the health of the lake overall. The impact of high nutrients in Elk/Beaver Lake is summarized in the following infographic:

• Too Many Nutrients in our Lakes

The current status of the lake and vision for the future protection of Elk/Beaver Lake is summarized in the following infographic:

• Vision for a Healthy Lake

The purpose of the Watershed Management Plan is to reduce external sources of nutrients to support environmental, social and economic values of Elk/Beaver Lake.

External nutrients are carried by water, sediments and dust particles from sources outside of the lake and deposited into the lake. External sources include human activities such as land development, road construction and farming that bring additional nutrients into the lake and alter the movement of nutrients across the landscape.

The scope of this watershed management plan is geographically focused to Elk/Beaver Lake and the surrounding sub-watershed draining into Elk/Beaver Lake, to reduce sources of external nutrients.

The in-lake remediation process is guided by expert consultants and an intergovernmental working group. On September 11, 2019 a staff report and business case was brought to the CRD Board outlining the environmental, recreational, community and economic values of the lake (over $10 million annually) and a recommendation to remediate the lake. The CRD Board approved the recommendation to move ahead with the in-lake remediation of Elk/Beaver Lake, subject to receiving at least 50% capital grant funds for the project.

The construction of an oxygenation system and related components for Elk Lake was completed in late 2023. This system is anticipated to help address internal nutrient loading in Elk Lake. These nutrients have accumulated over decades in the lake and bottom sediments and are continually recycled back into the water column under low-oxygen conditions. 

The total capital cost of this project was $1.6 million with additional annual operational costs related to water quality monitoring and system maintenance. The CRD is grateful for the Government of British Columbia's $750,000 contribution to help purchase the oxygenation system equipment.

The oxygenation system in Elk Lake directly pumps highly oxygenated air into the deepest part of the lake along a perforated pipe with small bubbles to improve deep water oxygen levels. Since the operationalization of the system in late 2023, initial water quality results show that oxygen levels in the hypolimnion (deepest part of the lake) are generally greater than in previous years. The system was turned on in November 2023 when deep lake waters are cold and readily mixed with surface waters. During this time, deeper water oxygen levels are naturally elevated, because colder water holds more oxygen.

As water temperatures warm in early spring, the lake generally becomes stratified with warmer, oxygenated waters at the surface and colder, less oxygenated waters in the deeper part of the lake.

Prior to installing the oxygenation system, we would expect oxygen levels to decrease significantly in the deeper water during spring/summer resulting in anoxic conditions, causing the release of sediment-bound phosphorus into the water column. Elevated deep water phosphorus levels would then be available at the lake surface in the fall when temperatures drop and the lake mixes, providing optimal conditions for blue-green algae growth.

It is anticipated that the oxygenation system will maintain elevated oxygenated levels during the spring/summer in the deepest lake waters to ensure phosphorus remains bound to the sediment and following lake mixing in the fall, does not become readily available for blue-green algae growth.

Why develop a watershed management plan?

The purpose of the watershed management plan is to reduce sources of nutrients within the watershed that contribute to high nutrient levels in Elk/Beaver Lake.

The management plan includes identifying values, interests and priorities at the lake. It summarizes water quality issues and sources of those issues and key management actions to address them.

What did the watershed management planning process look like?

Public engagement was a key part of developing the Watershed Management Plan for Elk/Beaver Lake.

A public information session was held on July 31, 2019. Three additional feedback sessions were held throughout September and October 2019, as well as direct consultation with interest groups, field experts and government agencies.

The public were also invited to comment on the draft Elk/Beaver Lake Watershed Management Plan through an online survey in February 2020 to support the finalization of the plan.

The management plan was finalized and approved in October 2020.

• Investigation of in-lake remediation options for Elk Lake (PDF)
• Review of Beaver Lake ecology and need for aeration (PDF)
• Elk/Beaver Lakes: Water Quality Assessment & Objectives (Ministry of Environment, Land and Parks, 1992) (PDF)
• Ambient Water Quality Assessment and Objectives for Elk and Beaver Lakes Saanich Peninsula, Overview Report (Ministry of Environment, Land and Parks, 1992) (PDF)
• State of Water Quality of Elk and Beaver Lakes 1986-1995 (Ministry of Environment, Land and Parks, 1996) (PDF)
• Elk Lake Sediment Analysis: a summary of results and implications for Phoslock (Nowak, 2016) (PDF)
• Evaluation of remediation options for Elk/Beaver Lake, Victoria, BC (Nurnberg and Lazerte, 2016) (PDF)
• Water Quality Sampling Program for Elk Lake 2014-15: overview, status and phosphorus budget (Nordin, 2015) (PDF)
• Elk and Beaver Lakes Fish Inventory (Hemmera Envirochem Inc, 2017) (PDF)
• Aquatic Plant Workshop and Survey Summary Results (CRD, 2016) (PDF)
• Cleaning up Elk and Beaver Lakes: what can be learned from other lakes (Environmental Law Centre, University of Victoria, 2015) (PDF)
• Bottom Sediment Analysis of Elk Lake (student project, Julio Flores and Queen Esther Nankabirwa, 2017) (PDF)
• Elk/Beaver Lake and Bear Hill Regional Parks Management Plan (CRD Parks, 2010) (PDF)
• A Preliminary Review of the BC Ministry of Environment Water Quality Data for Elk Lake (Rick Nordin, 2014) (PDF)
• Elk Lake Centre Water Quality Trends 1986-2022 (Nielsen/Coastal Collaborative Sciences, 2023) (PDF)