QENTOL,YEN Collects Baseline Data to Study Impacts of the Municipality of Cowichan Sewage Effluent Outfall Relocation into the Sea.

April 08-12, 2026

Last week QENTOL,YEN was on the water collecting valuable baseline data of clams, seaweed, prawns, crabs, flatfish, and finfish in and around Cowichan Bay. The Municipality of North Cowichan is proposing relocating the sewage effluent outfall from the Cowichan River to Cowichan Bay. 

We want to investigate how this relocation might impact the flora and fauna in The Bay, and how oceanic currents may bring these impacts to the neighbouring WSANEC Inlet. QENTOL,YEN, Tsartlip Stewardship, and the WSANEC Leadership Council ensured WSANEC had a presence during G3 Consulting’s data collection and collected our own data alongside G3 to ensure Indigenous ownership of data. 

In addition to this baseline data in Cowichan Bay, QENTOL,YEN has also established a 12 month Baited Remote Underwater Video data collection plan to ensure baseline data of the entire Inlet is captured with underwater recordings to understand fine scale biodiversity in The Inlet and monitor any changes.