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.

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)