Concrete Wall Found at Kus-kus-sum

We are happy to announce that we have re-mobilized to the site for the spring and have started removing the remaining concrete. Currently, most of the remaining concrete is in the form of a 170m-long wall that was found buried just behind the steel-piling wall that separates the site from the Courtenay River. Removing this concrete wall is the next step of the restoration and will be undertaken over the next two weeks. The steel-piling wall will remain in place throughout the work on site and its removal will be the very last step of the restoration work.

To remove the concrete wall, we will have to excavate near the river. Since our river is a tidal river, the water and water table are much higher during high tides. This means we will have to time our work with the low tide windows. For the next few weeks, those tidal windows fall later in the evening and work will have to be timed accordingly. As we remove this wall over the next two weeks, work at Kus-kus-sum will be starting later in the morning (10 or 11am) and will be continuing later into the evening (7-8pm). We will keep our work within the City of Courtenay noise bylaws and do what we can to minimize disruptions to our lovely neighbors and community.

We’re working closely with a marine engineer to ensure the steel-piling wall remains structurally sound throughout this process. We will continue environmental and archeological monitoring, and will be monitoring daily upstream, downstream, and at-site water quality in the Courtenay River.

The Kus-kus-sum site is an active work zone, please DO NOT enter the site without personal safety equipment (hard hat, steel toed boots and safety vest) and specific permission from Project Watershed staff to do so.