Fisherman’s Wharf Park Daylighting and Rain Garden

Project Highlights

The City of Victoria Parks Department retained KWL to daylight a large stormwater pipe through a derelict sports field and Fisherman’s Wharf Park.

Feasibility work showed that an extremely deep canyon would be required for the proposed creek, and that some areas would never see direct sunlight.  Another alternative reviewed included the use of solar powered pumps to lift water to a shallower creek, but in the end a regional rain garden was chosen as the best solution.

The work was complicated by the presence of contaminated soils, which were identified and mapped, and the final design chosen avoided these.  The rain garden is surround by park, which includes a beachfront, playing field, pathways, and fruit trees.  At 325 m2, the rain garden is the largest in the City of Victoria.  It treats runoff from urban streets surrounding Fisherman’s Wharf ensuring better water quality for Victoria’s Harbour.