In a press release issued on Oct. 2, One Cowichan, an alliance of conservation groups, newly formed in the face of the water crisis that has become a reality for the Cowichan Valley, the group announced the launch of its website onecowichan.ca.
“The Cowichan River is in crisis. If we get no significant rain by the end of the month, the river could run dry,” states the press release. “This situation could have been avoided or mitigated if the Provincial regulatory authorities had listened to appeals made by watershed board members and local citizens to hold water in the weir in July, but they refused the request and released the water into the river when it was not needed. We must never allow this to happen again. We must get control of our precious water resources out of the hands of bureaucrats and into the hands of local citizens.”
The website’s prominent goal is to provide an online format for a petition, open to all local residents to sign, that promotes more local management of the Cowichan Watershed.
“This petition was created by a few concerned residents of the Cowichan Valley who know there are many more who care about the Cowichan, and who need your help by signing and/or volunteering through this site,” states the website. “We believe there is only one Cowichan—one river, one valley, supporting healthy communities. We must work together to keep it that way.”
