LAKE COWICHAN, B.C. — The Town of Lake Cowichan has purchased two parcels of land for $1.4 million to expand its sewage lagoon system, a move officials say will help prevent the town from discharging effluent into the Cowichan River during periods of low water.

The land was purchased from Mosaic, a major British Columbia forestry company, and is being described by local officials as a significant step forward for the community’s infrastructure planning.

Mayor Tim McGonigle called the purchase a generational land acquisition that creates new opportunities for infrastructure, environmental protection and economic development.

The decision to pursue the land purchase followed a 2023 fish kill event on the Cowichan River, which prompted the town to examine ways to improve its wastewater lagoon system. Jas Sandhu, the town’s superintendent of public works and engineering, said staff began looking into potential upgrades to the lagoon system last year in the aftermath of that die-off.

Water flowing into industrial treatment plant basin

The Town of Lake Cowichan’s sewage treatment facility had previously been found to be operating outside regulatory requirements for wastewater discharge on multiple occasions in 2023, the same year the fish kill occurred. Provincial fisheries staff at the time raised concerns about the effluent being discharged into the river during low-water conditions, when the Cowichan River’s flow is reduced and less able to dilute wastewater discharge.

Town councillor Kristine Sandhu, who also sits on the Cowichan Watershed Board, said the additional land opens up possibilities the town had previously only been able to consider in the abstract, giving local officials more room to pursue long-standing infrastructure goals.

Beyond wastewater management, town officials say they hope the newly acquired land could also support future industrial development, an outcome they say would help diversify and strengthen Lake Cowichan’s municipal tax base.

The parcels include timber valued at approximately $400,000, according to town officials.

A River Under Pressure

The Cowichan River holds significant ecological and cultural value for the region, serving as a spawning ground for chinook salmon and other fish species, supporting rainbow trout and steelhead populations, providing water for regional agriculture, and holding deep cultural significance for the Cowichan Tribes. The river has faced recurring pressure in recent years from low summer water levels linked to drought conditions, a trend that has heightened concern among local governments, First Nations and conservation groups about the cumulative effects of wastewater discharge, water extraction and climate-driven flow reductions on fish populations.

No timeline for construction of the expanded lagoon infrastructure was included in the town’s announcement.