Articles
General · 20th April 2010
Historic Water Pipeline - Nexus article
Student aims to protect historic pipeline
by Nic Vandergugten April 8, 2010 – Courtesy of Nexus , Camosun College's student newspaper
Great pains are taken to protect heritage buildings in Victoria, but this isn’t always the case with heritage sites that aren’t buildings. One site that’s remained largely under the radar is the decommissioned Sooke pipeline, which snakes its way 40 kilometres from Sooke Lake to the Humpback Reservoir.
Camosun Civil Engineering student Dustin Creviston is fighting to get the Sooke pipeline heritage designation.
“When you go to the Mt. Wells park you see the pipeline from the parking lot,” says Creviston. “One day curiosity got the best of me and I decided to find out more about it. Then, over the summer, some friends and I explored its length, and things have just gone from there.”
Creviston, a second-year Interurban student, has sent letters to the Capital Regional District (CRD) requesting the land be transferred to CRD Parks as reserve land.
“This seems like a no-brainer,” he says, “because the CRD already owns the land.”
The pipeline has a rich history—in the early 1900s it became apparent that Elk Lake could no longer supply Victoria with fresh water, so between 1913 and 1915 over 400 workers were housed in rural Sooke and employed in the construction of a pipeline that would deliver water from Sooke Lake.
A factory on the Goodridge Peninsula, right beside where Fuse Bar and Grill sits today, manufactured the concrete segments and the pipeline was constructed.
Workers started at both ends and built towards the middle.
“This was a monumental project in its day, and its remains should be protected,” says Creviston.
“The trestle is supported in some places by a series of beautiful trestles, some as high as four stories. There is a fear that the CRD might blow these up to prevent people from injuring themselves on them,” he says.
As part of a recent CRD beautification campaign, images of the trestle have been featured on electrical boxes in such places as Langford, View Royal, and Oak Bay.
Creviston recently gave a presentation to the CRD Parks Board showing the historical significance of the area and its potential as a future park. In the February 2009 Sooke Parks Plan, a flowline trail near the pipeline is listed as a proposal.
“What I’m asking for is essentially an agreement to protect the pipeline. While it’s not immediately threatened, I don’t want to wait for the 11th hour,” says Creviston. “So far the CRD hasn’t given much of a response to my letters, so the main plan is to raise awareness. Not many people know that it exists or know what it is when they see it.”
Read the original article online at Nexus Newspaper
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Capital Regional District's (CRD) Regional Parks division is currently preparing a new Strategic Plan to guide the management of regional parks and regional trails over the next ten years.
To offer your support for Dustin Creviston's proposal, participate in the Capital Region's Regional Parks Strategic Plan
If you can't attend an open house, fill in the
online response form
by Nic Vandergugten April 8, 2010 – Courtesy of Nexus , Camosun College's student newspaper
Great pains are taken to protect heritage buildings in Victoria, but this isn’t always the case with heritage sites that aren’t buildings. One site that’s remained largely under the radar is the decommissioned Sooke pipeline, which snakes its way 40 kilometres from Sooke Lake to the Humpback Reservoir.
Camosun Civil Engineering student Dustin Creviston is fighting to get the Sooke pipeline heritage designation.
“When you go to the Mt. Wells park you see the pipeline from the parking lot,” says Creviston. “One day curiosity got the best of me and I decided to find out more about it. Then, over the summer, some friends and I explored its length, and things have just gone from there.”
Creviston, a second-year Interurban student, has sent letters to the Capital Regional District (CRD) requesting the land be transferred to CRD Parks as reserve land.
“This seems like a no-brainer,” he says, “because the CRD already owns the land.”
The pipeline has a rich history—in the early 1900s it became apparent that Elk Lake could no longer supply Victoria with fresh water, so between 1913 and 1915 over 400 workers were housed in rural Sooke and employed in the construction of a pipeline that would deliver water from Sooke Lake.
A factory on the Goodridge Peninsula, right beside where Fuse Bar and Grill sits today, manufactured the concrete segments and the pipeline was constructed.
Workers started at both ends and built towards the middle.
“This was a monumental project in its day, and its remains should be protected,” says Creviston.
“The trestle is supported in some places by a series of beautiful trestles, some as high as four stories. There is a fear that the CRD might blow these up to prevent people from injuring themselves on them,” he says.
As part of a recent CRD beautification campaign, images of the trestle have been featured on electrical boxes in such places as Langford, View Royal, and Oak Bay.
Creviston recently gave a presentation to the CRD Parks Board showing the historical significance of the area and its potential as a future park. In the February 2009 Sooke Parks Plan, a flowline trail near the pipeline is listed as a proposal.
“What I’m asking for is essentially an agreement to protect the pipeline. While it’s not immediately threatened, I don’t want to wait for the 11th hour,” says Creviston. “So far the CRD hasn’t given much of a response to my letters, so the main plan is to raise awareness. Not many people know that it exists or know what it is when they see it.”
Read the original article online at Nexus Newspaper
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Capital Regional District's (CRD) Regional Parks division is currently preparing a new Strategic Plan to guide the management of regional parks and regional trails over the next ten years.
To offer your support for Dustin Creviston's proposal, participate in the Capital Region's Regional Parks Strategic Plan
If you can't attend an open house, fill in the
online response form