The landslide that sent a large portion of a waterfront lot into the Gorge Waterway seems to be confined to one site, says Esquimalt’s director of community safety services.
“In terms of the properties around it, thus far the bank is stable,” Blair McDonald said.
At the same time, Saanich officials are dealing with a smaller slide down a seaside bluff in Gordon Head.
Both incidents have been tied to recent heavy rain.
Repairs at the 933 Mesher Pl. property next to the Gorge are the responsibility of the homeowner, McDonald said.
“There will be some federal agencies and provincial agencies they’ll have to deal with because, of course, you’re talking about the waterway.”
McDonald said the house on the lot is not in danger of sliding toward the Gorge. An Esquimalt building inspector has checked the house to ensure it is structurally stable and that the utilities are working.
It appears that only soil was deposited into the water, he said.
McDonald said the municipality’s parks department was in the area Wednesday “to update themselves as to the condition of the bank there and any work that they may need to do on our land, because there is township land on one side and a private residence on the other.”
Soil saturation is likely the prime factor in the Gorge landslide, said Michael Grilliot, a PhD candidate in geography at the University of Victoria. “As rainfall increases, soils become saturated and that increases the soil’s susceptibility to failure.”
Living near water can be a factor in such issues, Grilliot said.
“Residents and houses that close to the water, that’s simply a risk that they’re willing to take.”
Rob Wickson, president of the Gorge Tillicum Community Association and a member of Veins of Life Watershed Society, said there needs to be a central authority to take care of the multiple issues affecting the Gorge waterfront, from oil spills to derelict boats and erosion. “Who do I phone? I have no idea.”
In Saanich, the slide happened on an Arbutus Road property, near Locarno Lane.
Mixed debris and part of a staircase have fallen down a bluff and onto the beach above the high-tide line, said Harley Machielse, Saanich director of engineering.
He said the homeowner has arranged to have that spot on the beach cordoned off, and a geotechnical engineer will assess the site at the homeowner’s expense.
While there had been signs of movement along the bluff, “we don’t have a history of a slide of this significance in the past,” Machielse said.
It’s too early to tell if anything other than rain contributed to the slide, he said.
Insurance Bureau of Canada spokesman Aaron Sutherland couldn’t speak to the Gorge case, but said coverage for landslides isn’t typically available. Flood insurance, meanwhile, is new to the market, and increasingly important.
“We’re seeing that type of thing happen more and more often with changing climate bringing severe weather,” he said.
“We’re seeing more intense storms, more instance of heavy rains, which is increasing the impact to individuals.”
