Creeks and Streams
Several provincial and federal regulations and acts, as well as local bylaws, exist to protect watercourses, fish and wildlife species, and riparian habitat. For more information on conducting works in and around a watercourse (such as channel maintenance, culvert works, and vegetation removal), see our ‘How Do I’ Guide on Instream Works and Watercourse Maintenance for more information.
The Township of Langley is home to over 700km of rivers, creeks, and streams and approximately 900km of agricultural and roadside watercourses. This extensive network of watercourses is home to resident fish populations and offers natural habitat for a multitude of birds and wildlife. Keeping our watercourses clean and their riparian vegetation areas healthy is essential. Everyone can play a part in this by disposing of contaminants properly and keeping garbage and pollutants out of ditches, storm drains, creeks, and streams, and respecting riparian vegetation in and around them.
In watersheds with significant areas that have been or will be developed, Integrated Stormwater Management Plans are completed to identify ways to maintain and promote the health of creeks and streams.
The Township has completed, and continues to update, a comprehensive Watercourse Classification Map that categorizes the surface drainage network in the municipality according to fish habitat values. The Township has incorporated language in its Official Community Plan (34MB), which provides protection to riparian habitats and watercourses during development through permits and regulations. For more information on streamside protection or the watercourse map, please contact the Township Community Development Department.
For more information on the ecological diversity of our waterways, and your role in preservation, please visit our partner, the Langley Environmental Partners Society.