Squamish Oceanfront Development - Mamquam Blind Channel Dredge Characterization Study

The Squamish Oceanfront Development Corporation, in partnership with the District of Squamish, will assess sediment in a channel near the city centre to determine whether the soil dredged from the site can be safely used as fill to develop parkland on an adjacent brownfield site. The city plans to develop a marina in the Mamquam Blind Channel and a park on adjacent Squamish Oceanfront Development lands. The channel must be dredged to facilitate navigation and the park development needs clean fill. The planned Dredge Characterization Study will assess the environmental quality of sediment samples taken from the full depth and extent of the planned dredging area in the channel. Ideally, the dredged sediment from the channel could be used to build the nearby Oceanfront Park. However, the proposed parkland is a former brownfield site — home to a chemical processing plan that left mercury and hydrocarbon contaminants in the soil — which contributes sediment to the Mamquam Channel. The site was previously remediated to meet commercial land use standards. If the soil is not clean, it will be trucked away for disposal and clean fill for the park will be trucked in at considerable financial and environmental cost. Completion of the marina and oceanfront park is expected to boost the local economy, provide additional recreational and touristic options, reduce public health hazards, improve water quality and extend wildlife habitats. (Project description from original funding application)