Sealaska youth help remove debris from the Venema Creek water supply line at Carkeek park in the summer of 2016; photo by Ramonte Stanmore, 7/27/16
Because of a job well done last year by a group of 14 middle and high school summer day campers, a possible disaster was narrowly averted this week.
Last year at the end of July 2016, a group of 14 middle and high school summer day campers from a partnership between Sealaska and the University of Washington helped out with important maintenance work on the Salmon Imprint System. They removed debris around some 200 feet of intake pipe that supplies oxygen-rich creek water to salmon fry. This is important work because the creek water supply pipe needs to remain visible at all times for regular inspection. Any leakage can lead to reduced water flow to the regular crowd of 35,000 salmon fry and deprive them of oxygen.
Due to this job well done, CWCAP staff easily noticed a section of pipe on Jan 25, 2017 along the forested creek upstream of the Salmon Imprint System that had developed a potentially catastrophic leak (see photos below). A temporary patch was applied and repair planning began.
Within a day of spotting the leak in a relatively obscure, forested area, CWCAP staff made repairs and the proper water flow was restored to many thousands of salmon fry destined to be released into Venema Creek sometime in March.
Thank you Priya Pugh at the UW and all of the great youth that ended up saving the day. We hope the Sealaska and UW partnership continues and more youth can enjoy opportunities in our Carkeek Park outdoor classrooms.
Before: leak found along the length of the Venema Creek water supply line for the Salmon Imprint System; Jan 25, 2017
After: thanks to the work done the previous summer by Sealaska youth, improved visibility provided easy inspection and a quick fix to a potentially disastrous leak; Jan 26, 2017