It has been over three weeks since the severe flooding event on the Cheticamp River, but that doesn't mean people have stopped talking (and writing!) about it. Most recently, Lewis Hinks, the Atlantic Salmon Federation's Director of Programs for Nova Scotia, blogged about the flood and the dramatic changes to the river. You can read Lewis' blog here (he does a nice job of summarizing the habitat restoration work on the Cheticamp River and the August flooding event.
While the ASF blog highlights some of the changes to river, the following series of before and after shots attempt to further reveal some of the major changes that have taken place on the lower Cheticamp River. As Lewis put it, what a difference a day can make. :)
Work site above Fence Pool (looking downstream) during the construction phase this summer. Notice the shallow, wide channel through this section.
Work site above Fence Pool (looking downstream) after the major flood event on August 22nd. Notice the loss of the mid-channel bar, development of the bar on the eastern (near) bank, and the narrowing and deepening of the main channel.
Work site below Fence Pool (looking upstream) after the installation of rock retarding bars this summer.
Work site below Fence Pool (looking upstream) after the flood. Notice the massive bar that formed between and over the rock bars installed on the eastern bank. The channel is now considerably narrow and deeper and a nice looking pool has formed mid-way down the bar and extends below the structures.
Work site above the Cabot Trail bridge (looking downstream) after the installation of rock retarding bars in August, 2014.
Work site above the Cabot Trail bridge (looking downstream) after the August, 2015 flood event. The flooding further narrowed the channel here (the instream structures had already contributed to the narrowing and deepening of the channel in this site) and led to the formation of another new pool.