![What can we do to help our watersheds health?](https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/wp-content/themes/learning-portal/img/entry-placeholder.jpg)
By OB35
We need a healthy watershed to have healthy animals, with a healthy watershed we will obtain healthy animals so that requires good water quality. We need to make sure we have healthy keystone species that will stay for some time otherwise are ecosystem will always be changing.
![Can we ever restore Bowker creeks fish population back to healthy levels?](https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/wp-content/themes/learning-portal/img/entry-placeholder.jpg)
By OB35
The pollution levels need to drop quite a bit for the fish to get a healthy living area. The levels of rain that builds up needs a draining system to make sure that it won't flood over in any way so the fish won't have the risk of being wiped out by a flood.
![Can we restore river otters to bowker creek](https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/wp-content/themes/learning-portal/img/entry-placeholder.jpg)
By OB35
We can restore river otters back in a couple of ways i found this article online about a river otter restoration in New Mexico. It would take a lot of efffort and work with changing the waer quality and making sure that they have a wide variety of prey to feed on and a variety of aquatic plants for the otters to eat.
![Restoration: Keeping the Run](https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/8657292_web1_readerphotofishing-480x360.jpg)
By OB25
Once we have tackled the necessary conditions for salmon to live in Bowker Creek, keeping them here is the next challenge. To preserve the run, a great deal of education must go into the community, and the emphasis on not littering. There must also be occasional clean-ups, to block any dams that have formed and may block the path of the salmon.
![Aquatic ecosystem quality](https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/wp-content/themes/learning-portal/img/entry-placeholder.jpg)
By OB34
Bowker Creek current water quality: Temperature: (average) 12 degrees celsius. Dissolved oxygen (average) 8.25 ppm. pH: (average) 6.5. Phosphate: (average) 0.25 mg/l. Nitrate: (average) 0.37 ppm
![Optimal water quality for an aquatic ecosystem](https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/wp-content/themes/learning-portal/img/entry-placeholder.jpg)
By OB34
Temperature: bellow 12 degrees celsius. Dissolved oxygen: greater than 9 ppm. pH: between 7 and 8. Phosphate: below 0.25 mg/l. Nitrate: below 1 mg/l.
![The Creek: Turbidity](https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-18-at-7.29.45-PM-480x360.png)
By OB25
Turbidity relates to the sediment in the ground - cloudiness, means more particles. These pieces can get trapped in the salmon's gills and suffocate them. In Bowker Creek, the issue is the soil on the side of the banks. Turbidity or haziness in the water can cause many hazards, like suffocating the fish and their inability to see clearly.
![The Creek: Problem with Runoff](https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-18-at-7.11.57-PM-301x360.png)
By OB25
Although our plan for Bowker Creek may seem ideal, there are flaws that we must address before beginning the project. One being, the issue with excess stormwater contributing to the creek's water volume, and because there is plenty road runoff emptying into Bowker, the dirty water affects the turbidity and the salmon cannot withstand the haziness.