West Nose Creek Ground Water - 2022 Update

The culvert crossing, where the tiny spring crosses the highway has to be the worst I have seen in recent years, because most outfits that install them need to meet certain stringent guidelines, I know this because I have designed culvert crossings, made sure they were installed correctly and they have worked very well.  During construction I do intervien if the job is not being done correctly. The important thing here is that the culvert must be constructed to allow fish migration upstream and downstream, it is the law!

The fact that a culvert constructed so close to the city, and under the careful watch of guys like me, turned out to be such a disaster is something you will have to ask Rockyview District people about. Certainly, if there was a permitting process like law requires, someone would step up to the plate and get the job done right! Let’s take a look see, shall we?

The new storm drain pipes will contain spring water from ground water springs that cover the immediate area upstream of the crossing of Symons Valley Road. All of this added spring water is going to enhance the trout's living conditions further upstream than before, because the colder the water upstream the more trout will be attracted to the area, if the habitat is available.

The new storm drain pipes will contain spring water from ground water springs that cover the immediate area upstream of the crossing of Symons Valley Road. All of this added spring water is going to enhance the trout's living conditions further upstream than before, because the colder the water upstream the more trout will be attracted to the area, if the habitat is available.  

This is where we have been working very hard on our end, planting lots of willows and a few deciduous trees to speed up the recovery and get trout further up the system. The trout have already started moving upstream further in recent years, because I have been monitoring the trout’s progress by investigating spawning activity. This is how you can cheaply, assess the state of a fishery, and even volunteers can get involved.  

The other option open for research is the fly rod, with some catch and release angling survey work. I have used this later method very often in recent years, and it is a wonderful tool to find out how far up the browns are migrating, as our willows are now already providing habitat. Even spawning habitat has been increased due to our willow planting, which is stabilizing stream banks and improving water quality as time progresses. 

There is a lot to learn about West Nose Creek and I am here to help you out a bit if you are interested, and hopefully you will share in some of the excitement at any developments to improve the water quality and habitat of a wild trout stream, right at the back door!

Speaking of which, let’s get back to the subject of updates and new info! The small spring that we started talking about is of short duration, which is the case with most ground water springs. Depending a lot on how tight the valley is, ground springs seep out of areas along the valley bottom and some are quite long, but most are short, with minimal flow.  

However, these tiny streams all add up and they all should be treated with respect and they will give us fly fisher’s heaven in return. And anyone that likes to see a natural riparian habitat with all of the wildlife above and below the surface.  It does surprise people when you show them trout in such tiny spring creeks, but first they need a way of getting there, and restoration of the main-stem of West Nose Creek will encourage migrations further up the system. 

But the city of Calgary needs to get their act together and keep it that way. A school kid could give them better guidance, because these kids care more about the environment and less about their parent’s wealth than any other generation.  

The following Google maps are a handy tool for showing what things look like from the air. In the first photograph, you will see how short the spring creek that we are talking about is, and how already humans are taping into its water supply, just to save a few bucks in taxes and with little consideration for the environment!