Monitoring crews are out on the Hope Slough testing water quality along the historic waterway in Chilliwack.

The work is part of 'Shxwlistexw te Sqw谩:la Shxweli' an Indigenous-led slough restoration project, which means "Care for the spirit of the Hope Slough" in Halq'emeylem.

Krissi Bonthoux and Lada Victor are two of the community water technicians who've been monitoring and testing the slough at 36 different sites for pollution and temperature levels as two examples.

They hope their work can have a noticeable impact, and increase the number of fish returning to the urban waterway every year.

"If you see them, feel free to give a wave or stop by to chat," Roxanna Kooistra, project manager for Cheam Entreprises said about the techs out in the field. "Their data is helping to identify key areas for restoration and sources of pollution."

The Pel贸lxw tribe members Sqw脿 and Xwch铆y貌:m First Nations, partnered with Shwh谩:y Village to launch the 'Shxwlistexw te Sqw谩:la Shxweli' project in 2023, and it's one of several initiatives the nations are working together on to protect water as a sacred resource.

"Our project focuses on improved flow through Sqw谩:la; riparian area restoration; fish habitat restoration, and water quality testing," Kooistra said. "Another key component of this project is the engagement of our youth as they will be the future stewards of our lands, waters and resources."

Some of the slough sites are so dirty or weed congested the techs can barely wade in with their gear to do their water sampling, Bonthoux said.

"There are a lot of children out there who liked fishing with the slough right in their backyard back in the day," Bonthoux said. "Everybody used to swim here, or catch fish."

When the water levels are too low and the water is too warm the fish won't return, she pointed. The Hope slough is home to salmon like chum, coho, as well as crayfish, sculpins and stickleback.

"I want to bring the fish back and I want to bring swimming holes back so people can come in and actually go fishing and catch something," Bonthoux said.

They partnered with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to undertake the monitoring and testing to complement the long-term aim of improving the flow and water quality in the slough.

The techs are part of a team led by biologist Mike Pearson, who have been testing the slough weekly, for things like turbidity, pollutants, dissolved oxygen and temperature. The data gets sent to a lab in Surrey for analysis, and results will eventually be searchable online.

This summer has seen initial phases of riparian and habitat restoration work, with the removal of invasive plants, and plantings, as well as community and youth engagement on the way to bringing back the flow.

"We鈥檙e building salmon habitat at several sites," Kooistra said, about the spawning or rearing habitat they're creating with riffles or pools.

"Keep an eye out for changes at the site of the historic Dayton鈥檚 Pool, near the corner of Camp River and Hope River Roads."

The riffle is complete and native plantings are going in to cool the area around the waterway to make it conducive as fish habitat.

Work recently undertaken has created six spawning riffles and one holding pond for rearing fish in Sqw谩:la and its tributaries. About three kilometres of the slough has seen invasives removed and native plants dug into the ground.

"We have been working with Matt Foy, Leqamel Land Guardians, Ecora, DFO Resource Restoration Unit and Rotary Club Chilliwack to make this good work happen," she said. "It's about practically taking small steps to increase flow."

One of the sites, near Mt. Cheam Christian School has seen the school partnering with the slough team to undertake the long-term maintenance at one of the habitat restoration sites.