CSRD Working to Address Newsome Creek Erosion

Media Release

Newsome Creek at Caen Road looking upstream showing undercutting and debris. (Photo credit: Westrek Geotechnical Services Ltd)

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) is continuing to work with provincial partners at the Ministry of Transportation and Transit on improvements around Newsome Creek in Sorrento, which is threatening homes along the creek bank and affecting water quality for the Sorrento Water System.

Since 2016, runoff in Newsome Creek has degraded the steep banks to the point where it is undermining the foundations of several homes and posing a risk to other properties. Every spring, increased water flows in the creek take an additional toll on the stability of the banks.

In addition, runoff from the creek creates an additional strain on the Sorrento Water System due to increased sediment levels near the water intake. The Sorrento Water System was recently on a Water Quality Advisory due to the elevated levels of sediment in the water potentially disrupting water disinfection systems.

A 2019 study, commissioned by the CSRD, showed extensive rehabilitation work will be required to stabilize the slope in the affected area.

A key component of the mitigation work is the enlargement of a Ministry of Transportation culvert along the Trans-Canada Highway in the area. As part of this project, the CSRD is applying for grant funding to conduct bank stabilization and rebuild fish habitat along the creek.

“We are hopeful that by working together with the Ministry, we can provide the affected residents some additional safety and peace-of-mind and also ensure better water quality for the community as a whole,” said Derek Sutherland, CSRD General Manager, Community and Protective Services.

“This has been a long process, and we look forward to being able to get the shovels in the ground on this one,” he added.