Bowker Creek

Managed by Surfrider Foundation, Vancouver Island Chapter - BWYTF

Bowker Creek is an approximately 8 kilometers long freshwater creek with headwaters at a wetland at the University of Victoria campus. From there, the creek flows roughly southwards, through a system of underground channels and above ground sections, eventually discharging to the ocean near Glenlyon-Norfolk school in the district of Oak Bay. Urbanization of the Bowker Creek Watershed over the past 200 years has resulted in significant changes to the creek, including degraded water quality and the underground channelling of approximately 70% of the creek. Today, the creek is the subject of community and regional restoration efforts, as well as various environmental education initiatives. The Bowker Creek Walkway is located in Oak Bay, along one of the creek’s few remaining open sections, between the end of Armstrong Street and Monterey Avenue. This greenspace includes benches, picnic tables and a walkway along the creek.

The sampling location at Bowker Creek is at an open section of the creek off Haultain Street, near Dean Avenue.

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WATER QUALITY

No data available
Current Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on January 30th, 2017. Surfrider Foundation, Vancouver Island Chapter - BWYTF updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

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CURRENT WEATHER

9°C

Cloudy with a few clear breaks

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MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

BWTF monitors sites around Victoria, BC year-round. Currently, BWTF is sampling (on average) 1 site every two weeks. They rotate the sites, so each one gets sampled on a regular basis, but they give priority to known or suspected problem sites.

Samples are typically collected on Saturdays, Sundays or Mondays, but Surfrider volunteers may collect samples on other days of the week depending on volunteer availability. Surfrider updates Swim Guide with new results as soon as test results become available, approximately 24-48 hours after sampling.

Surfrider’s BWTF utilizes the standardized EPA criteria of 235 MPN/100 mL for collecting and analyzing water samples. Test results are expressed as Most Probable Number (MPN) of E. Coli per 100 mL by using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray/2000 MPN Table.

Results are posted shortly after the lab results are available (approximately 24 hours after sample collection). Results will be communicated through the Swim Guide app and website. Results tables are also available on the Surfrider Foundation's Blue Water Task Force website at http://www.surfrider.org/blue-water-task-force/chapter/41.

Freshwater beaches are marked green when single sample test results show E. coli levels below 235 MPN / 100 mL of water.

A freshwater beach is marked Red when E. coli results are equal to or above 235 MPN / 100 mL water. If a sample exceeds the standard, the site is given priority for re-testing.

A beach is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information.

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

WATER QUALITY

No data available
Current Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on January 30th, 2017. Surfrider Foundation, Vancouver Island Chapter - BWYTF updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

For water quality icon legend, click:

CURRENT WEATHER

9°C

Cloudy with a few clear breaks

MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

Beach	Location	Water Quality
Willows Beach Victoria, British Columbia	Victoria, British Columbia	Current Status
Willows Beach - South End Oak Bay, British Columbia	Oak Bay, British Columbia	Historical Status
Willows Beach - Foot of Estevan Oak Bay, British Columbia	Oak Bay, British Columbia	Current Status
Ross Bay Victoria, British Columbia	Victoria, British Columbia	Current Status

Other Beaches Near This One

Beach	Location	Water Quality
Willows Beach Victoria, British Columbia	Victoria, British Columbia	Current Status
Willows Beach - South End Oak Bay, British Columbia	Oak Bay, British Columbia	Historical Status
Willows Beach - Foot of Estevan Oak Bay, British Columbia	Oak Bay, British Columbia	Current Status
Ross Bay Victoria, British Columbia	Victoria, British Columbia	Current Status

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	Green means the beach’s most recent test results met relevant water quality standards.

	Red means the beach’s most recent test results failed to meet water quality standards.

	Grey means water quality information for the beach is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable.

	Green means the beach passed water quality tests 95% of the time or more.

	Yellow means the beach passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time.

	Red means the beach failed water quality tests 40% of the time or more.

	Green means the beach has historically excellent or pristine water quality, but there is no current data.

	Red means the water at the site has water quality issues or there is an emergency.

	Grey means there is no current water quality information, the beach is under construction, there has been an event that has rendered water quality information unreliable or unavailable.