Coats Marsh Weir

The Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) is planning on removing the concrete weir in Coats Marsh Regional Park on Gabriola Island.

The existing concrete weir in Coats Marsh does not meet provincial safety standards and requires removal or replacement. The RDN is planning to remove the weir from Coats Marsh while keeping the upstream beaver dam in place to preserve the majority of the wetland ecosystem in its present state.

Coats Marsh Regional Park includes approximately 10ha of wetland which drains into Coats Marsh Creek. The wetland is retained by a concrete weir and by a beaver dam, which is approximately 55m upstream of the weir. The locations of the weir and beaver dam have effectively created a "lower" pool located between the weir and beaver dam, and an "upper" pool whose water level is determined by the beaver dam elevation. The upper pool is considerably larger than the lower pool and forms most of the marsh.

More information on the history of the project and how this decision was arrived at can be in the FAQ section of this page.

The Coats Marsh Dam Preliminary Decommissioning Plan is the initial phase of design and planning and is available for review in the Documents section of this page.

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