PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Hon. R. G. Williston, Minister
E. W. Bassett, Deputy Minister of Lands
Report of the Lands Service
containing the reports of the
Lands Branch, Surveys and Mapping Branch,
and Water Rights Branch
together with the
University Endowment Lands
Year Ended December 31st
1957
PRINTED BY
AUTHORITY OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Victoria, B.C., January 31st, 1958.
To the Honourable Frank Mackenzie Ross, C.M.G., M.C., LL.D.,
Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of British Columbia.
May it please Your Honour:
Herewith I beg respectfully to submit the Annual Report of the British Columbia
Lands Service of the Department of Lands and Forests for the year ended December
31st, 1957.
R. G. WILLISTON,
Minister of Lands and Forests.
Victoria, B.C., January 31st, 1958.
The Honourable R. G. Williston,
Minister of Lands and Forests, Victoria, B.C.
Sir,—I have the honour to submit the Annual Report of the British Columbia Lands
Service of the Department of Lands and Forests for the twelve months ended December
31st, 1957.
E. W. BASSETT,
Deputy Minister of Lands. BRITISH COLUMBIA GOVERNMENT AIR PHOTOGRAPH
Partially completed restoration of Fort Langley, site of the inauguration of the
original colony of British Columbia, November 19th, 1858. Oblique air photo taken
June 4th, 1958; altitude, 500 feet. CONTENTS
Page
1. Introduction by the Deputy Minister of Lands 7
2. Lands Branch—
Superintendent of Lands 11
Land Inspection Division 24
3. Surveys and Mapping Branch—
Surveyor-General 31
British Columbia-Yukon Boundary Survey 34
Legal Surveys Division 1 3 7
Topographic Division 42
Geographic Division 52
Air Division 58
4. Water Rights Branch—
Comptroller of Water Rights 65
Operations Division 69
Hydraulic Investigations Division 76
Fraser River Board 8 3
5. University Endowment Lands 91
6. Personnel Office 9 5
7. Mail and File Room 99 3
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J REPORT OF THE
BRITISH COLUMBIA LANDS SERVICE
E. W. Bassett, Deputy Minister of Lands
The volume and variety of activities by the British Columbia Lands Service—land
and water surveys, mapping, and alienations from the Crown—form a strong indication
of economic conditions in the Province. In summing up the accomplishments of the
Lands Service in 1957 it is a pleasure to record that the great interest in land and water
acquisition, development, and use has continued unabated and has even exceeded last
year's record high. The details of these accomplishments and the increased public service
rendered by the Lands Service are presented in the following pages under the respective
reports of the Lands, Surveys and Mapping, and Water Rights Branches. It is appropriate here, however, to cite some examples of the work carried out by these branches to
illustrate the nature and scope of their activities.
The Lands Branch processed nearly 20 per cent more applications to purchase
Crown lands than were dealt with in 1956. Along with the keen demand for Crown lands
is a corresponding competition from various resource-users. The Lands Branch is therefore careful to resolve the many conflicts which arise between applications for timber
sales, grazing administration, foreshore use, and other interests of a contentious nature.
Such intricate problems in land-use administration have required the convening of a
number of special public meetings and hearings during the past year.
Due to the volume of land work in the Cariboo District it was found necessary to
create a new land recording district, with headquarters at Williams Lake. The new
district, which comprises portions of the Quesnel and Lillooet Land Recording Districts,
has vastly improved services to the public, particularly to residents of the Chilcotin and
Williams Lake areas.
A review of the number and type of examinations handled by the Land Inspection
Division reveals that applications for pre-emption rose sharply in the Peace River area,
while on the Lower Coast, as well as in many parts of the Interior, summer-home sites
and foreshore leases were particularly in demand.
The Surveys and Mapping Branch contains four divisions—Topographic, Legal
Surveys, Geographic, and Air. These survey divisions produce the basic framework upon
which the orderly development of the Province must depend.
In 1957 the Topographic Division completed the field control for twelve standard
topographic map-sheets, representing an area of some 4,200 square miles. Among the
many areas in which field control was established was that for pondage maps along the
Peace and Finlay Rivers and that in the Lower Fraser Valley. The latter was undertaken
in co-operation with the Federal Government and the Provincial Water Rights Branch
as part of the preparation of ten detailed (1:25,000) map-sheets. The Division was able
to test a recently acquired Tellurometer, a newly developed distance-measuring instrument which is capable of obtaining geodetic accuracy. The British Columbia-Yukon-
Northwest Territories Boundary Commission surveyed 57 lineal miles along the 60th
parallel. The westerly section between the Takhini and Hendon Rivers, an area of
extremely rugged topography, had not been surveyed prior to 1957.
In connection with applications to purchase Crown lands, the Legal Surveys Division
surveyed 18,500 acres, mostly in the Peace River District. Survey ranged from Little
Prairie, Moberly Lake, and Groundbirch to the Upper Halfway River area. In continuance of policy of co-operation with the Department of Highways, the Legal Surveys
Division, in 1957, surveyed the rights-of-way of 35 miles of newly constructed highways. GG 8 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Notable among the many accomplishments of the Geographic Division during the
year were the calculation and adjustment of the control network established by the
Topographic Division for the British Columbia Power Commission in the Bute Inlet-
Chilko Lake area. This work is illustrative of the co-operation extended by this Division
to other branches of Government in the public interest. Besides the work of its Trigonometric Control Section, the Geographic Division continues its services as the major
map making and publishing agency in British Columbia. During 1957 three new 2-miles-
to-1-inch map-sheets were published covering respectively Yale, Sugar Lake, and Vernon.
These carefully prepared sheets contain a wealth of information about terrain and the
various cultural features superimposed on the land and have proven particularly useful
to administrators and district officials. Also published were a new 10-miles-to-l-inch
map-sheet and a completely new and very useful single-sheet map of the Province. The
10-mile maps, which are available in two landform editions, have proven very popular
with the general public as well as with technical personnel. The Division has continued
its work on the popular new Land Series Bulletins, two of which were published in 1957.
Although generally unfavourable weather conditions prevailed during 1957, the Air
Division carried out a total of over 18,000 square miles of photography, over one-third
of which was new 20-chain photography for forest-inventory mapping. Besides this
notable accomplishment, the Air Division completed over 26,500 square miles of new
40-chain interim mapping. The Air Photo Library recorded a total of 39,000 air photographs loaned, about 25 per cent more than the number of loans recorded in the previous
year.
It is a pleasure to mention that, along with its many other services during the past
year, the Surveys and Mapping Branch provided facilities and instructors for a draughting
course for junior draughtsmen. This course, under the co-sponsorship of the Canadian
Vocational Training and the Civil Service Commission, provides chosen applicants with
intensive summer training in map-draughting and in elementary computation.
The Water Rights Branch added significantly to its inventory of potential water
usages in British Columbia. Such inventory information is indispensable to many industrial and agricultural developments in the Province. In addition, District Engineers
provide a continually increasing service to the public by carrying out such duties as dam
inspections and investigations associated with the control and development of water
resources.
The volume of work involved in the administration of the "Water Act," under
which the Branch functions, showed an increase in almost all phases over that of the last
few years. A total of 934 water licences were issued and some 687 new applications for
licence were received.
The incorporation, operation, and supervision of improvement districts and water-
users' communities continues to be a growing part of Branch work. During the year
nine new community waterworks projects and three schemes for improving existing
systems were investigated and are, or shortly will be, under construction. Seventeen new
improvement districts were formed, bringing the total to 219.
The snow forecasting service, which has been an added function of the Water Rights
Branch during the past few years, has proven extremely valuable to British Columbians.
Snow-survey information, which is made available to all interested persons, furnishes
up-to-date information on the accumulation of snow and the amount likely to occur as
run-off. Indications of the flood potential are also made, and it is gratifying to record
that the accuracy of the 1957 stream-flow forecasts was particularly good.
Details of the operations of each branch of the British Columbia Lands Service are
contained in the following pages. LANDS BRANCH Notel
THE LANDS BRANCH
At the time of the Fraser River gold-rush in 1858 the demand -ior land in British
Columbia was greatly intensified and pre-emptions predated surveys. Within four years 254
pre-emptors had taken up more than 50,000 acres of land. To facilitate the transfer of real
estate and provide for the registration of titles, the "Land Registry Act" was passed in 1860.
The Government of the Province of British Columbia was now in the real-estate business in
a big way; the more than 366,000 square miles of land and water that constitutes British
Columbia was the real estate in question.
With the entrance of British Columbia into Confederation in 1871, the demand for land
quickened to a rush, and over the next thirty years the land-settler (and the promoter) succeeded the gold-miner in importance. Railroads were built and land grants passed, cities came
into being, and companies became established. Land was at the core of all developments.
The task of land administration became very heavy and necessitated the formation of
a Department of Lands in 1908. In 1912 a Forest Branch was included in the Department of
Lands. To-day the Department of Lands and Forests exercises control of more than 90 per
cent of the surface of British Columbia.
How does the Lands Branch fit into the total organization of the British Columbia Lands
Service of to-day? The relation may be expressed briefly. The Lands Branch has jurisdiction in matters pertaining to the disposition of Crown land, and is charged with so
administering and disposing of the land that the general welfare, present and future, of
the Province must be protected at all times.
When an individual, or group, desires to purchase or lease Crown land, the application is
directed to the Superintendent of Lands, head of the Lands Branch. His authority governs
the following matters:—
Sale, lease, and pre-emption of Crown lands for such purposes as agricultural, industrial, commercial, and home-sites.
Preparation and issuance of Crown grants under the " Land Act," the " Mineral Act,"
and the " Taxation Act."
Preparation and issuance of right-of-way easements for power, telephone, pipe lines,
etc.
Reservation of suitable Crown lands and foreshore for national defence, use and
enjoyment of the public, forestry experimentation, fisheries research work, highways, etc.
Granting railway rights-of-way under various Statutes.
Protection of historic sites from alienation.
Reservation and conveying of Crown lands for such purposes as school-sites, cemeteries, and fair grounds.
Leasing of land and foreshore for such varied purposes as wharf-sites, booming-
grounds, canneries, oyster and other mollusc fisheries, and for boat-houses,
quarry-sites, cattle-ranching, trappers' cabins, ship-building, and aircraft bases.
To perform these and other functions efficiently, the Lands Branch works in close
co-operation with a great number of other agencies, such as municipal and city administrations,
town-planning authorities, the British Columbia Forest Service, the Branches of Water Rights
and Surveys and Mapping within the British Columbia Lands Service, and all the departments
in the Government of the Province, notably Public Works, Education, Attorney-General, and
now Agriculture.
Outside the Provincial departments there is much business transacted with Federal
departments, such as the Department of National Defence, the Veterans' Land Settlement Act
administration, the Public Works Department, and the Indian Affairs Branch of the Department
of Citizenship and Immigration.
Direct service to the people of British Columbia is the first duty of the Lands Branch and
this takes the bulk of the time of the Lands Branch personnel. Associated with this prime
duty is the important function of the maintenance of the records, which in many cases are the
only ones in British Columbia showing the correct legal status of the surface of the Province.—
Reprinted from 1952 Report. LANDS BRANCH GG 11
LANDS BRANCH
C. T. W. Hyslop, B.S.A., P.Ac, Superintendent of Lands
The original land office for the sale of lands in what is now the Province of British
Columbia was that of the Hudson's Bay Company in Fort Victoria, Vancouver's Island,
and it was from this beginning that the Lands Branch came into being. The first land
grant was effected in 1849, when Queen Victoria granted the entire area of Vancouver's
Island to the Hudson's Bay Company for the purpose of establishing a colony.
A number of parcels of the lands in this colony were sold to private individuals by
the Hudson's Bay Company between the years 1850 and 1860, at which time the company authorized the colonial government to make disposition of Crown lands. Parcels
of land on Vancouver's Island were disposed of in the years following 1860, but no grant
to these lands was made until after the Hudson's Bay Company formally reconveyed the
colony to the Crown in 1867. This confusion of the granting of titles was fortunately
avoided when the Mainland Colony of British Columbia was formed in 1858, and that
Colony issued its own Crown grants between the years 1858 and 1866, when it united
with the Colony of Vancouver's Island to form the single Colony of British Columbia.
It is fitting that a hundred years later this Branch is in a favourable position to aid
many Centennial Committees in the rural areas of British Columbia to carry out their
programmes of building community halls and recreational grounds for the centennial
celebration by providing suitable crown lands.
The work of the Lands Branch during the past year has continued to increase in
complexity as a result of the economic expansion of the Province's resources.
Due to the large volume of land work in the Cariboo area, it was necessary to create
a new land recording district with headquarters at Williams Lake. This new district
comprises portions of the Lillooet and Quesnel Recording Districts. In addition to
facilitating administration, the creation of this district vastly improves public services,
particularly to residents of the Chilcotin and Williams Lake areas.
As a result of contentious applications, it was necessary to hold two hearings under
the provisions of section 141 of the " Land Act." These hearings concerned applications
located at Horseshoe Bay, in the Municipality of West Vancouver, and Secret Cove, in
Group 1, New Westminster District.
Special meetings to investigate contentious land matters were also held at Gun Lake,
Mara, and Campbell River.
The granting of easements of right-of-way to pipe-line companies continued during
the year and covered the application of the Inland Natural Gas Company from Savona to
Nelson and the major portion of the Westcoast Transmission Company's right-of-way
from the Peace River country to the Lower Mainland. Small remaining areas of right-
of-way are still required to be dealt with for these two companies, and it is anticipated
that they will be finalized in 1958.
During 1957 certain easements were also granted to the Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline
Company in conjunction with its looping programme to facilitate the transmission
of oil from Alberta to Vancouver. It is anticipated that this looping programme will
continue into 1958.
Considerable time was spent in studying easement-rate rental schedules in order
to formulate an equitable rental table covering easements granted on both land and
foreshore.
In co-operation with the Surveyor of Taxes Office, the study of foreshore lease rental
rates, which was started in 1956, was continued and many refinements made to the
appraisal process which has been developed over the past two years. GG 12 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS '
The reserves of Crown lands have occupied a considerable portion of the Department's time in order to facilitate road construction by the Department of Highways, and
also to satisfy the requirements of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway Company. Many
reserves were also created for the Federal Departments of Transport and Public Works
in conjunction with public wharves and mooring-sites.
The proposed industrial project in the Rocky Mountain Trench also required special
•attention of the Department in placing the reserves on Departmental records.
In keeping with the programme of improving and renovating the Departmental
records, the official registers of the Quesnel, Lillooet, and Williams Lake Land Recording
Districts were completely rewritten during 1957. The Department is currently engaged
in rewriting the registers of the Alberni Land Recording District, and it is anticipated
that this will be completed by the winter of 1958.
A progressive plan of official equipment modernization has been undertaken in the
general office, and during the past year modern Kardex files have been installed to record
purchases and pre-emptions. It is planned to extend this system during 1958 to cover
lease applications.
The Department was the host to the Western Land Directors' Conference, which
was held from June 24th to June 28th, 1957. The Directors and Assistant Directors of
Land for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba attended. The interexchange of ideas
regarding status, policy, and practice relating to land matters was of great benefit to all
the delegates.
Most sections of the Administrative Division of the Lands Branch have shown an
over-all increase in volume of work performed during the past year. A brief outline of
each section follows:—
Purchase Section.—A total of 2,465 applications to purchase Crown lands
were processed during the year, an increase of 18 per cent over 1956.
Twenty-three public auction sales of Crown lands involving 362 lots were
held at various centres in the Province.
Lease Section.—Six hundred and thirty-four applications to lease Crown lands
were processed during the year, an increase of 10 per cent over 1956.
There has been a considerable increase in the number of cases involving
the unauthorized use of Crown foreshore that has required detailed correspondence and investigation.
Crown Grant Section.—A total of 1,426 Crown grants were issued during the
year. This is a decrease of 6 per cent over the previous year and resulted
from a marked decrease in the number of Crown grants issued for reverted
mineral claims caused by an amendment to the " Mineral Act."
Pre-emption and Reserve Section.—Three hundred and seventy-two reserves
were placed on Crown lands during the year, an increase of 10 per cent
over the previous year. One hundred and nine applications to pre-empt
lands were received during the year, as compared to fifty-four for the
year 1956. The majority of these applications were located in the Peace
River District.
Easement Section.—One hundred and thirty-two applications for easement
and right-of-way were received during 1957, as compared with ninety-six
for the previous year. The number of easements granted decreased from
seventy-five in 1956 to sixty-one in the current year. This resulted from
the holding in abeyance of a number of easements for transmission-line
right-of-way pending the study and adoption of a revised rental schedule.
Status Section.—There was a marked increase in the number of register entries
made, although there was a small decrease in the number of land parcels
statused during the year. LANDS BRANCH
GG 13
The over-all work load of the Department was generally greater in 1957 than the
previous year. It is particularly noted that public inquiries requiring special status
numbered 1,690, as compared to 1,551 in 1956. Over 17,000 letters were handled from
the general public and other Government agencies in addition to the preparation of 324
Orders in Council.
It might be mentioned that, due to illness and transfers, there has been considerable
turnover in staff. This constant readjustment of personnel to fit individual positions has
tended to slow the work-flow in the Branch because of the extra time required to fill
the positions through the Civil Service Commission and time required for job-training.
The tables on the following pages indicate in detail the work carried out by the
Administrative Division of this Branch. The report of the Inspection Division is presented
separately by the Chief Land Inspector.
STATISTICAL TABLES
Collections
Table 1.—Summary of Recorded Collections for the Year Ended
December 31st, 1957
" Land Act "—
Land leases, rentals, fees, etc $472,415.55
Land sales 507,996.33
Sale of maps and aerial photos 52,179.94
Water rentals and recording fees 1,152,370.05
$2,184,961.87
" University Endowment Lands Administration Act " 223,506.71
Refunds—Advances and votes 45,966.82
Total collections
$2,454,435.40
Table 2.—Summary of Total Collections for Ten-Year Period
1948-57, Inclusive
1948 mmmWmm
1949 wmmam-.
1950 mmmmm
$975,772.41
1,045,969.03
1,159,988.86
1,692,737.85
^ o 7^1 i" 7C
2,065,181.52
■ 2 248,293.16
hh ? 45*1 135 40
Total
$20,627,733.54
Ten-year average, $2,062,773.35. GG 14 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Table 3.—Sundry Revenue for the Year Ended December 31st, 1957
Collections under " Land Act "—
Leases, land-use permits, fees, etc $366,854.23
Crown grant fees 15,470.00
Occupational rental 9,751.82
Royalty 28,101.18
Reverted mineral claims 2,460.77
Survey fees 5,296.34
Sundry 44,481.21
Total $472,415.55
Table 4.—Summary of Sundry Revenue Collections for
Ten-year Period 1948-57, Inclusive
1948 mh $288,901.91
1949 an 322,683.92
1950 wmmmmmm 387,435.19
1951 mnmnKag. 916,338.98
1952 imHBnMnanwnHaa, 1,694,073.93
1953 MaHo^nHmBH^Mii^ 1,608,773.65
1954 ^mmmmmm 330,397.09
1955 wmmmmmLma 425,595.79
1956 .wmmamm-wmm 576,331.17
1957 hmh 472,415.55
Total $7,022,947.18
Ten-year average, $702,294.71. LANDS BRANCH
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DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Table 6.-—Country Land Sales, 1957
Surveyed
Unsurveyed_.
TotaL
Acres
66,410.33
14,118.13
80,528.46
Table 7.—Certificates of Purchase Issued, 1957
Land Recording District
Alberni
Atlin
Cranbrook
Fernie
Fort Fraser .
Fort George
Golden
Kamloops ___
Kaslo
Lillooet
Nanaimo
Nelson
New Westminster _.
Osoyoos (Vernon)
Peace River
Prince Rupert
Quesnel
Revelstoke
Similkameen
Smithers
Vancouver
Victoria
Williams Lake
TotaL
Number
of Sales
33
25
14
49
107
17
51
7
113
32
10
22
5
132
48
58
7
51
69
77
8
77
1,012
Table 8.—Town Lots Sold, 1957
Town
Alberni
Anaconda
Athalmer _
Balfour
Beaverdell __
Bella Coola
Bralorne
Clinton
Coalmont
Cumberland
Elko
Endako ___
Extension
Falkland _
Lots
Value
6
$275.00
2
100.00
2
250.00
2
150.00
1
30.00
1
10.00
2
200.00
7
85.00
3
75.00
3
800.00
18
600.00
4
80.00
11
745.00
3
1,164.00 Table 8.-
Town
Fernie
LANDS BRANCH
-Town Lots Sold, 1957—Continued
Lots
1
Value
$100.00
Fort Fraser
5
210.00
Fort St. James
Grand Forks
10
7 •
3,145.00
165.00
Gibsons Landing
3
925.00
Golden
8
580.00
Granthams Landing
Harding Bay
Hazelton
2
450.00
10
59
600.00
815.00
Hedley
1
195.00
Hope
7
2,500.00
Houston
24
905.00
Kaslo
47
35.00
Le Jeune Lake
5
250.00
Lone Butte
1
50.00
Lower Post
4
275.00
Masset
16
720.00
Merritt
5
520.00
Midway _ __
17
1,225.00
Moyie
1
50.00
New Denver _
2
50.00
New Hazelton
52
460.00
New Westminster
5
2,500.00
Osoyoos
Parksville
1
10.00
12
280.00
Pemberton
8
2,508.00
Port Alberni
2
1,140.00
Port Coquitlam
Port Clements
17
250.00
28
1,075.00
Port Edward _ _
15
1,045.00
Port Hammond _
4
16.66
Port Hardy __
32
1,325.00
Prince George
Prince Rupert
Princeton
104
9
11
38,723.00
1,860.00
395.00
Qualicum Beach
1
50.00
Queen Charlotte
12
370.00
Revelstoke
4
210.00
Savona
8
1,877.00
Shawnigan Lake
5
300.00
Sidney _____
5
25.00
Silverton _ .. _ _ .
1
40.00
Skidegate __ .
3
90.00
Smithers
Stewart
163
89
6,740.00
55.00
Summit Lake _ _
1
570.00
Telkwa
3
75.00
Terrace . .
7
4,300.00
Topley
10
180.00
Trout Lake _ _ _ __ .
2
85.00
GG 17 GG 18 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Table 8.—Town Lots Sold, 1957—Continued
Town
Tulameen
Vananda
Vanderhoof
Walhachin 2
Wardner
Wellington
Willow River
Wilmer
Lots
Value
13
$635.00
3
200.00
8
400.00
2
170.00
4
205.00
1
125.00
2
75.00
11
365.00
58
$87,058.66
Totals 958
Table 9.—Land-sales Collections, 1957 (Collections under
"Land Act" (Principal and Interest))
Country lands—
Reverted $ 159,612.46
Crown 247,349.45
$406,961.91
Town lots 110,947.10
Surface rights of mineral claims 3,246.42
Indian reserve cut-off 1,670.22
Total $522,825.65
Table 10.—Summary of Land Sales for Ten-year Period
1948-57, Inclusive
1948 Bm^HH $379,650.48
1949 ^h^__h__________b 375,254.88
1950 Hnom 366,458.62
1951 H-_U__H________M--aB 382,256.61
1952 n__n._BBBnaBHHBMa_BH 619,263.14
1953 ■HHBHnHBHBH 594.004.08
1954 n___H-___-___-_--_»Bflm 488,303.49
1955 En__«_______naa«a-H^-H 605,469.42
1956 iiimiiih in—w 573,976.49
1957 BH|m_B___^____HnMH 522.825.65
Total $4,907,462.86
Ten-year average, $490,746.29. LANDS BRANCH
GG 19
Leases
Table 11.—New Leases Issued, 1957
Number Acreage
Hay and grazing 136 49,287.22
Agriculture 12 3,452.20
Quarrying, sand, gravel, etc 8 598.10
Home-site 4 50.50
Booming and log storage 40 1,036.23
Oyster, clam, and shell-fish 13 272.20
Cannery .... __ _
Fish-trap—salmon-fishing station 2 2.63
Foreshore—miscellaneous 28 150.96
Land—miscellaneous 33 1,958.88
Totals 276 56,808.92
Table 12.—Temporary Tenure Leases Renewed, 1957
Number 72
Acreage 4,492.33
Table 13.—Land-use Permits issued, 1957
Number 22
Acreage 59.70
Table 14.—Licences of Occupation Issued, 1957
Number 11
Acreage 3,352.64
Table 15.—Assignments Approved, 1957
Leases, land-use permits, licences of occupation, etc. 138
Table 16.—Easements Granted, 1957
Number
Miles
Acres
Fees
Consideration
Annual
Foreshore
7
2
28
1.105
40.30
2.32
.205
107.413
6.223
.505
13.843
4.115
578.212
12.494
.05
779.35
5.00
2.08
98.28
$40 00
Land
$210 00
10.00
$18,112.54
25.00
Construction, inspection, etc., of sewer-mains, tele-
Oil pipe-lines
$2,237.70
Totals _ _
37
170.809
1,475.466
$20,375.24
$220.00
44
171.762
1,479.581
$20,375.24
$260.00
Total received, $20,635.24.
3 GG 20
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Table 17.—Sundry Lease Collections ("Land Act")
Leases, land-use permits, fees, etc.
Occupational rentals
$366,854.23
9,751.82
Royalty _ 28,101.18
Total $404,707.23
Table 18.—Summary of Home-site Lease Collections for
Ten-year Period 1948—57, Inclusive
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
$2,265.74
1,926.99
2,040.33
2,123.65
1,398.80
1,394.30
1,562.60
1,267.52
2,050.56
1,464.90
Total $17,495.39
Ten-year average, $1,749.53.
Pre-emptions
Table 19.—Pre-emption Records, 1957
Land Recording District
Pre-emption Records
Allowed
Pre-emDtion Records
Cancelled
Certificates of Improvements Issued
Number
Ten-year
Average
Number
Ten-year
Average
Number
Ten-year
Average
Alberni — ..— - .—
Atlin -
0.1
3.1
5
12
3
0.9
6.9
20.6
1.2
6.4
1
3
1
3
1
1
31
2
3
0.2
0.1
3.1
. 1 9.2
7.2
65
1
1.3
2.6
6.9
0.3
0.2
0.5
0.4
56.3
0.2
10.3
0.6
0.6
0.3
1.4
4.7
. 1
0.1
1
2
29
6
2
1
14.9
0.9
0.7
4.7
1.2
39.5
17.1
0.1
3.8
1.4
1.3
8.3
0.5
0.1
2.5
1.9
35.5
0.5
Quesnel — —
9.2
1.0
1.1
Smithers
0.9
1.0
0.2
0.3
Totals -
66
92.7
61
121.6
46
79.8
1 Williams Lake established April 1st, 1957. LANDS BRANCH
Table 20.—General Summary of Pre-emption Records
GG 21
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
Ten Years
Total
Average
Pre-emption records allowed
Certificates of improvements
171
108
145
109
141
133
85
92
87
69
53
77
97
71
48
41
35
52
66
46
928
798
•92.8
79.8
Crown Grants
Table 21.—Crown Grants Issued, 1957
Purchases (other than town lots)
Town lots
Pre-emptions
Mineral claims (other than reverted)
Mineral claims (reverted)
"Public Schools Act"
" Veterans' Land Settlement Act".
Home-site leases
Pacific Great Eastern Railway
Supplementary timber grants
Surface rights (" Mineral Act")
" Coal and Petroleum Act"
Miscellaneous
Total.
Certified copies of Crown grants issued, 6.
663
396
58
146
99
10
11
12
3
3
4
3
18
1,426
Table 22.—Crown Grants Issued for Past Ten Years
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
TotaL
,063
,602
,580
,740
,872
,829
,276
,498
,518
,426
16,404
Ten-year average, 1,640. GG 22 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Table 23.—Total Area Deeded by Crown Grant, 1957
Acres
Purchases (other than town lots) 66,826.10
Pre-emptions 8,553.32
Mineral claims (other than reverted) 5,864.39
Mineral claims (reverted) 4,031.60
"Public Schools Act" 39.92
"Veterans' Land Settlement Act" 969.49
Home-site leases 137.66
Pacific Great Eastern Railway 493.99
Supplementary timber grants 516.29
Surface rights ("Mineral Act") 196.65
" Coal and Petroleum Act" 1,920.00
Miscellaneous 357.60
Total 89,907.01
Table 24.—Reserves, 1957
Applications Reserves
Received Completed
Use, recreation, and enjoyment of the public 194 140
British Columbia Department of Highways (rights-of-
way, gravel-pits, etc.) 85 73
Federal Government (defence purposes, wharf-sites,
etc.) 44 31
Miscellaneous (Forest Service Ranger stations, road
access, reforestation, etc., Game Commission,
water-power projects, etc.) 107 128
Totals 430 372 LANDS BRANCH
GG 23
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O GG 24 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
LAND INSPECTION DIVISION
L. D. Fraser, B.Sc.A., P.Ag., Chief Land Inspector
The Interior of the Province experienced a very abnormal amount of rain during
the months of June, July, and August. In the Peace River area, for example, the rainfall from May to October was 21.2 inches, as compared to a normal rainfall of 12 inches.
Since most of the side-roads in the Interior are not surfaced with gravel, access over
these roads during wet weather was severely restricted. As a result, the volume of field
work was directly affected. The untimely accidental death of Mr. W. A. Minion, Land
Inspector at Kamloops, left the Division short of one man for the early part of the field
season. A replacement for the vacancy at Kamloops was not acquired until mid-July.
Sickness and changing stenographic help further interfered with the over-all work output.
In 1956, 2,829 land examinations were made, whereas in 1957 the number of field
inspections completed was 2,499. The 13.6-per-cent decline in work output can be
largely attributed to the excessive rainfall and the difficulty experienced in filling Land
Inspector vacancies.
In addition to the above-mentioned examinations completed by the Land Inspectors, the Forest Service staff completed 128 examinations. Sixty-three of these were on
the west coast outside of the existing land inspection district boundaries and sixty-five
were examinations within the various land inspection districts.
PROBLEMS OF THE DIVISION
The backlog of outstanding inspections at the end of the year was 526. While the
amount of this backlog is very similar to the average carry-over for the last three years,
it is nevertheless regrettable that this figure cannot be considerably reduced. In effect,
this backlog is equivalent to three and one-half man-years of work, and it is unfortunate
that the Division has been unsuccessful in its attempt to increase the staff so as to deplete
the outstanding inspections and thus provide a more prompt service to the public.
Experience in the past has shown that the output per man varies inversely as the number
of outstanding examinations in the district. The fall-off of work output when there is a
large backlog of outstanding examinations is directly related to the added administrative
work created. The Inspector is constantly being harassed by the public as well as the
Department to make specific examinations. As a result, it is impossible to organize field
work so that several examinations can be completed on the one trip; rather, the Inspector
is called upon to dart from place to place in his district, disrupting any planned examination schedule.
STENOGRAPHIC ASSISTANCE
In order that the Inspector can devote more of his time in the field, it is necessary
that suitable stenographic help be supplied to each district office. Office routine work,
such as filing, typing, colouring maps, answering general correspondence, etc., can be
handled very efficiently by a trained stenographer. It is therefore desirable that each
one-man district office be supplied with half-time stenographic help and each two-man
district office with permanent stenographic help. During the past year some of the district offices were handicapped because of the lack of proper stenographic assistance.
It is desirable that this situation be remedied in the future.
TRAINING
Proper training of Land Inspectors in the science of appraising is becoming more
and more apparent. On Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland the need is already
upon us. It also became apparent this past summer that appraisal training would be LANDS BRANCH GG 25
invaluable to all of our men in the Interior. The demand for commercial and industrial
lands in the Interior is rapidly increasing as the natural resources of the Province become
developed and avenues of communication are established. The need for appraisal training of Land Inspectors as well as other Government personnel engaged in land and
building valuations was recognized by the Civil Service Commission, and it is indeed
gratifying to note that the first course in appraising is being presented in February, 1958,
under the auspices of the Civil Service Commission and the Canadian Vocational Training Branch. It is the desire of this Division that a second course be presented the following year in Appraisal 2. Our eventual hope is that the Land Inspector will become
an accredited appraiser.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
This Division, with the co-operation of the Department of Finance, devised a new
approach to the valuation of booming and log-storage grounds. The approach was
implemented on an experimental basis at first but has now been put into general use
throughout the Province. It is hoped that with the use of this schedule, comparative
values will be established on log-storage grounds throughout the Province and that on
the basis of the resulting values a direct relationship will exist between actual value,
assessed value, and lease rental.
STAFF
W. A. Minion, B.S.A., P.Ag., Land Inspector, Kamloops, since 1953, was drowned
in a boating accident on Kamloops Lake on April 9th, 1957, while on a business trip
to inspect a parcel of land on the north side of the lake near Frederick. He was accompanied by H. K. DeBeck, Forest Agrologist at Kamloops, and the applicant, J. H. A.
Marini, who were also drowned in the same mishap. Mr. Minion's untimely and tragic
death was a great loss to this Division in particular and agriculture in general. He served
as a flying officer from 1942 to 1945 with the Royal Canadian Air Force and was a
veteran of overseas service.
Mr. DeBeck, who was well known by all members of the Land Inspection Division,
will also be sorely missed, as many of the Land Inspectors had worked closely with him
on various applications where grazing interests were involved.
G. T. Atamanenko was transferred temporarily from Williams Lake to Kamloops
to take charge of the office until a permanent appointment could be made.
G. H. Wilson was transferred in July from Clinton to Kamloops to replace Mr.
Minion.
G. A. Rhoades was appointed Land Inspector—Grade 1, to fill the vacancy at
Clinton.
Throughout the year it became necessary to transfer temporarily the following
Land Inspectors to assist in certain districts where the work load became excessive:
F. M. Cunningham, Vancouver, assisted in Victoria, Prince George, and New Westminster; G. T. Atamanenko, Williams Lake, assisted in Kamloops and Clinton; R. N.
Mackenzie, Fort St. John, assisted in Smithers and Prince George; W. B. Stewart, Fort
St. John, assisted in Prince George; D. A. MacLennan, Pouce Coupe, assisted in Prince
George; R. F. Gilmour, Quesnel, assisted in Prince George; and D. E. Goodwin, Courtenay, assisted in Victoria. Two Assistant Land Inspectors—namely, M. F. Robson and
L. Goodale—both university undergraduates, were employed to assist in the Clinton,
Kamloops, and Kelowna districts.
SUMMARY
A review of the number and type of examinations revealed that applications for
pre-emptions had risen sharply, particularly in the Peace River area. On the Lower
Coast, summer-home site and foreshore leases were particularly in demand. In the
Interior, summer-home site and grazing leases comprised most of the applications. GG 26 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
The shortage of staff and the more precise and demanding type of reporting expected have placed an added burden on the fieldmen and created considerable administrative work at headquarters. It is sincerely hoped that sufficient personnel will be
acquired in 1958 to relieve the situation that developed in the past year.
LAND INSPECTION
Land inspections carried out during the year 1957 are tabulated as follows:—
Purchases—
Agriculture (other than grazing) 345
Access (roads, etc.) 11
Commercial (resorts, service-stations, hotels, airfields,
etc.) ,. 70
Community (cemeteries, church-sites, parking areas, etc.) 31
Grazing (pasture, range) 181
Home-sites (permanent) 334
Industrial (mill-sites, power-sites, manufacturing plants,
etc.) 64
Summer home or camp-site 220
Wood-lots or tree-farms 13
Leases—
Land—
Agriculture (other than grazing) 53
Commercial (resorts, service-stations, hotels, airfields, etc.) 6
Community (parks, cemeteries, dump-sites, etc.)___ 7
Fur-farming
Grazing (pasture, range, hay-cutting, etc.) 167
Home-sites (section 83 of the " Land Act ") 14
Home-sites (permanent, other than section 83 of
the " Land Act ") 13
Industrial (mill-sites, power-sites, manufacturing
plants, etc.) 18
Summer home or camp-site 25
Quarrying (sand, gravel, limestone, diatomaceous
earth, etc.) 17
Foreshore—
Booming and log storage or log-dumping 114
Commercial (boat rentals, marine service-station,
wharves, etc.) 30
Industrial (mill-sites, canneries, factory sites,
wharves, etc.) 15
Quarrying (sand and gravel from river-beds) 5
Oyster and shell-fish 22
Land-use permits 21
Licence of occupation 13
Easements 2
Pre-emptions—
Applications 64
Annual inspections (including applications for Crown
grant) 119 LANDS BRANCH GG 27
Subdivisions—
Valuations 27
Survey inspection 5
Plans cancellation 1
Proposals (lake-shore, residential, etc.) 14
Reserves—
Grazing
Gravel-pits 1
Recreational 26
Others (state purpose) 9
" Veterans' Land Settlement Act " 9
Land Settlement Board—
Classification 3
Valuations 1
Doukhobor lands
Miscellaneous inspections—
Delinquent accounts 12
Land-use surveys 3
Land values (current market values) 32
Protests 3 5
Trespass 3 3
Lease rental reviews (not recorded above)—
Land 11
Foreshore 28
Pre-Crown grants—
Section 53 of the " Land Act " 169
Section 83 of the " Land Act " 7
Property transferred to Crown valuations—
Department of Health and Welfare 1
Repurchase (section 135 of the "Land Act") 1
Applications under other Acts (Escheats, Quieting Titles,
etc.) 12
Total 2,434 SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH Nolo. 2
THE SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
Because the activities of man are kept orderly through a well-defined system of land
surveys, the Surveys and Mapping Branch is called upon to act as the connecting-link that binds
together many primary operations within departments of government and between government
and the general public.
Specifically, through land surveys, Crown and other lands, including water, are located and
identified accurately on the surface of the Province, and so made ready for alienation in any of
a variety of different ways. Further, a background of suitable maps and survey data is provided
to assist in the intelligent development of lands so acquired, and in the wise administration of
the natural resources associated with them.
In post-war years a great upsurge in the economic development of British Columbia's
natural resources has taken place. Each year shows increased activity in the disposition of
Crown lands for various purposes, ranging from the smallest individual application for a home-
site to industrial requirements involving many square miles of land.
In any of these transactions the Surveys and Mapping Branch plays an important part,
because it has the responsibility of clearing, as to status, all such applications for Crown lands,
whether small or large. This function involves complete record-keeping of all official survey
data by all sources, including a graphic record of all Crown-land alienations, whether surveyed
or unsurveyed.
Equally important, on the other hand, is the responsibility for the establishment, extension,
and recording of mapping control. These basic duties prescribe, among other things, the preparation of basic triangulation networks and aerial photography at suitable scales, the making of
control traverses, the delineation and maintenance of interprovincial boundaries, and the production of standard photo-topographic mapping, interim base-mapping, and cadastral surveys of
Crown lands. The data are then condensed and presented in lithograph map form.
The main objectives, then, of the Surveys and Mapping Branch are first to provide
complete, accurate, and readily available maps on adequate scales with allied data, for
administrative control of resources and Crown-land transactions, and, secondly, to maintain this information up to date by keeping abreast of continuous cultural development.
A survey inventory of such a standard is obviously of primary advantage in encouraging
the present development of our natural resources, and further developments which seem "just
around the corner."
A brief summary of the functions of the Branch follows, and the breakdown is provided
by Divisions:-—•
/. Administration.—General co-ordination of the four Divisions of the Branch, being
Legal, Geographic, Topographic, and Air; delineation and maintenance of boundaries under
the Provincial Boundary Commissioner—namely, (a) Alberta-British Columbia Boundary and
(_0 British Columbia-Yukon-North west Territories Boundary.
//. Legal Division.—Regulations for surveys under the various Provincial Acts, such as
Land, Land Registry, Mineral, Petroleum and Natural Gas; instructions to British Columbia
land surveyors regarding surveys of Crown lands and subsequent check of field-notes and plan
returns of same; preparation and custody of official plans; preparation and maintenance of
Departmental reference maps, mineral reference maps, and composite (cadastral) maps; clearance by status of all applications concerning Crown lands; field surveys and inspections of
Crown lands, highway rights-of-way, etc.; preparation of legal descriptions as required; operation of blue-print and photostat sections.
///. Geographic Division.—Map compilation, drawing and negative engraving, editing, and
reproduction; map checking, distribution, geographical naming—Gazetteer of British Columbia;
field and culture surveys for preparation of lands bulletins and map areas; preparation of legal
descriptions for and delineating administrative boundaries; editing and distribution of annual
Lands Report; trigonometric computation and recording of same; general liaison between this
Department and Federal and other mapping agencies on exchange of survey and mapping data.
IV. Topographic Division.—Propagation of field control—namely, triangulation, traverses,
photo-topographic control; compilation and fair drawing of manuscripts for standard topographic mapping; special field control for composite and multiplex mapping and other special
projects.
V. Air Division.—Aerial photographic operations involving maintenance and operation of
three aircraft; photographic processing, air-photo distribution, and Provincial air-photo library;
compilation of interim aerial base maps, primarily for British Columbia forest inventory; tri-
camera control propagation; multiplex aerial mapping of precise large-scale detail projects;
instrument-shop for repairs, maintenance, and development of technical equipment. SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH GG 31
SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
G. S. Andrews, M.B.E., B.Sc.F., P.Eng., B.C.R.F., B.C.L.S., F.R.G.S., Director,
Surveyor-General, and Boundaries Commissioner
Operations of the Surveys and Mapping Branch followed the same general pattern
and about the same volume this year as in 1956. Details of work in the field and in the
office may be found in the separate reports of the four divisions, which follow.
The field season, June through to September, was characterized this year by poorer
than average weather in the form of a series of interlocking storms which, during July
and August, moved eastward across the Province, mainly between latitudes 55° and 58°.
Adverse effects of this weather were felt by the photographic detachments of the Air
Division, by the control parties of the Topographic Division, especially in mountains
south of the Peace River, and by the parties of the Legal Surveys Division working in the
north. Reduced accomplishment and higher over-all unit costs in these operations were
for this reason inevitable, and remind us that surveying is closely akin to farming in its
dependence on weather, a primary factor, still very much uncontrolled by man.
The charter of three helicopters for the full four-month season was a record for the
Branch. One machine was financed by funds from the Water Rights Branch in connection with detailed topographic mapping in the valleys of the Parsnip and Peace Rivers
above Hudson Hope for dam-sites and pondage studies. The second machine was
financed for three out of four months by the British Columbia-Yukon-Northwest Territories Boundary Commission for a retracement and restoration survey of the north
Provincial boundary along the 60th parallel west of Windy Arm on Tagish Lake. The
fourth month for this machine and the full time of a third machine were financed from
the regular field appropriation of the Topographic Division. A Legal Survey party in the
Upper Halfway River area made emergency use of a helicopter operating out of Pink
Mountain (Mile 147) on the Alaska Highway, when prolonged heavy rains and raging
streams temporarily severed its line of communication by pack-horse. This extensive
experience with helicopter operations confirmed our past findings that the calibre of
helicopter personnel (pilots and engineers) assigned to survey operations in mountain
areas is of greater importance as a factor of efficient operation than the actual tariff paid
for the machines in dollars.
The unavoidable rise in costs of legal surveys of Crown lands, especially in remote
areas such as in parts of the Peace River District, is a matter of much concern. Even
when this work is restricted to concentrated groups of parcels, the cost per acre for legal
surveys into district lots pertaining to applications for Crown lands is often higher than
the statutory sale price per acre under the "Land Act" and in excess of the presently
used surcharge for survey per acre. For remote and isolated applications for Crown
land, as for leases under the " Petroleum and Natural Gas Act," it is quite possible that
modern air photographs and photogrammetry will provide the practical answer to survey.
Lot corners and boundaries may be identified on official air photographs and co-ordinated
with the country-wide survey control by precise photogrammetry.
For the second consecutive year, compilation of composite maps by the Legal Surveys Division has been in abeyance due to the lack of staff. These maps, at 500 feet per
inch, of settled areas show all subdivisions of land compatible with the scale, adjusted
and co-ordinated from all official records, and with air-photo information for travelled
roads, erosion, and accretion of water boundaries. They are invaluable for assessors,
Village Commissioners, approving officers, community planning, surveyors and allied
interests.
Anticipating future use of electronic computing-machines for high-speed processing
of the rather involved mathematical adjustment of survey control data, the Geographic
Division arranged for the supervisor of its Computing Section to participate in a special GG 32 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
night course offered at the University of British Columbia during the winter months of
1957/58. It is hoped, with the co-operation of Professor T. E. Hull, who is in charge of
the course, and other survey participants, that a programme for the basic adjustment of
a single quadrilateral of triangulation may be developed and tested on the computing-
machine as a practical object for the course. More advanced work in the future would
anticipate programmes for handling a series or a network of such quads.
A major problem in the operations and finances of the Air Division arose this year
due to an abrupt change in the specifications for air photos and map compilation required
for a new phase of the Provincial forest inventory. Heretofore the basic programme of
air photography and interim mapping, at a scale of one-half mile per inch, has been
financed to a large extent by Federal-Provincial moneys available for the National forest
inventory under the Canada Forest Act, and has constituted the main activity of the Air
Division, both in the field (air photography) and in the office (map compilation). The
versatile usefulness of this programme, however, was such that its resultant air photos,
some 200,000 now in the Provincial Air Photo Library, and maps, some 1,500 reproducible fair-drawn master sheets on file in the Department, have been of primary importance to all other Government departments and private interests concerned with the
opening-up of the country and the wise use of natural resources. Unfortunately the
northern third of the Province between the 57th and 60th parallels of latitude has not
yet been covered by this basic air-mapping programme—a region of importance now and
in the immediate future.
The new forest-inventory programme initiated this year calls for specialized narrow-
angle air photography at a larger scale, one-quarter mile per inch, and is to be confined
to productive forest lands south of latitude 57° as delineated by the earlier basic mapping.
This photography is not adaptable to other versatile uses, such as detailed contour mapping. The amount of country required to be covered annually is such that it would absorb
the full potential of the two photo aircraft now operated by the Air Division.
The coincidence of the air survey requirements of the forest-inventory programme
with general-purpose basic mapping of the northern third of the Province, with its very
important financial contribution, is obviously now at an end. To carry on the programme
into the north, additional money for both field and office operations will be required,
together with approval to convert and operate an additional Anson V aircraft for photography. The latter, CF-BCA, is available on transfer from the Highways Department,
having been replaced by a higher-performance amphibious aircraft. The cost of converting this Anson for photography would be modest, as would be the annual cost of
maintenance and operation for photography thereafter. To offset the loss of the forest-
inventory refund for continuation of the basic interim air mapping in the north at a scale
of one-half mile per inch, an additional annual allotment of moneys will be required.
The total would be much less than the cost of one mile of first-class highway construction
in average British Columbia terrain.
Electronics are playing an increasingly important role in survey operations. Mention has been made of electronic computers for speeding up laborious and involved survey
computations. A new electronic device, called the " Tellurometer," for measurement of
distances ranging between 1,000 feet and 25 miles has recently been perfected in South
Africa. This instrument, comprising master and remote units which are set up at the
extremities of the line to be measured, has proven to be capable of phenomenally high
precision. Each unit is sufficiently compact, light in weight, and sturdy to be transported
by back-pack if necessary. One of these outfits, ordered as soon as funds were authorized
for the current fiscal year, was received toward the end of the field season, too late for
operational use, but in subsequent tests and training it has confirmed its remarkable
accuracy and simplicity of operation. Significant improvements in the flexibility, accuracy, and economy of our future control surveys are anticipated by the use of this
equipment. SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH GG 33
Efforts to test an automatic recording electronic altimeter for survey aircraft were
not successful this year due to the equipment, borrowed for the purpose from the Royal
Canadian Air Force, being somewhat too primitive, complicated, and difficult of adjustment for effective installation in our Anson aircraft. Improved equipment of this kind,
more compact and lighter in weight, is now available from manufacturers, and offers
worth-while possibilities for recording a profile of the terrain passed over by an aircraft
flying at constant known altitude. The value of such data for vertical control in mapping
may be comparable in usefulness, if not in absolute accuracy, to that of the Tellurometer
for horizontal distance measurement.
Another application of electronics is being developed by the Air Division instrument-
shop in the construction of an automatic dodging control for printing enlarged photographs from the air negatives by electronic scanning which automatically controls the
strength of actinic light in relation to variations in density of the air negative. Such a
device improves the tonal qualities of the air photos by recovering detail in the shadows
and in the highlights, which under ordinary printing would be lost. It will replace manual
dodging now used, which, although expertly done by skilled operators, is subject to
human fatigue and requires long training.
Philip Marmaduke Monckton, British Columbia land surveyor in the Legal Surveys
Division, became due for statutory retirement at the end of May, but by special Order in
Council was retained in the service for an additional six months to cover the ensuing field
season and the preparation of his resultant notes and plans. Prior to Mr. Monckton's
entering the service of the Department in July, 1941, he had been engaged as a private
surveyor on many Departmental assignments in all parts of the Province, including extensive exploratory surveys in the north. He served in the armed forces during both world
wars. His intimate acquaintance with little-known parts of the Province and his lively
sense of humour will be sorely missed in the Branch.
The loss of a valued member of the staff was suffered in the untimely death of
Edward John Gray on October 3rd in his forty-fifth year. Mr. Gray, as instrument-
maker, performed highly skilled and specialized services in the maintenance, repair, and
adjustment of survey instruments for all divisions of the Branch and, as occasion required,
for other departments of the Government. Mr. Gray joined the service in 1949. He is
survived by his wife and two sons. At the year's end, a replacement for him has not
been found. GG 34 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
BRITISH COLUMBIA-YUKON BOUNDARY SURVEY
By A. F. Swannell, B.C.L.S.
This survey is a continuance of the restoration and retracement survey programme
initiated in 1956 of the original survey of the subject boundary between Teslin Lake and
Takhini River. In addition to the retracement survey, the 9-mile gap between Monuments 118 and 119 was to be run and monumented.
As in 1956, I was loaned, along with George New, B.C.L.S., my assistant, by the
Topographic Division to do this work for the British Columbia-Yukon-Northwest Territories Boundary Commission. J. E. Curtis, another staff member of this Division, acted
on the party as computer.
This year's work differed considerably from any previously carried out on the
boundary in recent years because of the ruggedness of the terrain. In this mountainous
region, ground measurement would have been most difficult to obtain, more especially
because the boundary being largely above timber-line, would have made any chaining
process very vulnerable to the attendant winds. Lengthy and arduous climbs would be
a daily occurrence. Consequently, it was decided upon triangulation methods for the
most part to obtain the distance measure.
The generalities of my instructions were:—
(a) To establish a triangulation network of third-order precision, or better, in
continuance of the previous year's triangulation along the boundary to
Hendon River, this network to be tied to the geodetic network in the
vicinity of Bennett Lake:
(b) Where feasible, co-ordinated positions of existing monuments were to be
obtained by triangulation methods directly from this control triangulation
or by secondary triangulation figures to enable an accurate determination
of distance between the original St. Cyr monuments:
(c) Where (b) above was impractical, such as in the lower wooded areas, or
where the existing monument was in a position not readily accessible by
triangulation, the co-ordinated position for the monument was to be
obtained by direct ground measurement:
(d) To connect the unsurveyed gap existing between Mounments 118 and 119
by a straight line of monuments:
(e) To renew the existing monuments in their original position and to reestablish any which may have been lost, as closely as practicable in their
original positions:
(/) To carry trigonometric levels to ascertain the elevation of each boundary
monument.
The crew assembled at Whitehorse on the night of June 10th, and on June 14th
actual work started on the boundary, with the camp established on the west shore of
Windy Arm at the old townsite of Wynton. For the most part of the season the crew
members numbered ten and were comprised, besides myself and asssistant, of one computer, two instrumentmen, two survey helpers, a cook, and, with the arrival of the helicopter on June 19th, the pilot and mechanic.
During the course of the season five main camps were established at convenient
intervals along the boundary. This meant speedy and efficient daily deployment by the
helicopter, chartered from Vancouver Island Helicopters Limited, and at no time was
any observing party too remote from the main camp in case of some eventuality. To
supply us, both with provisions and gasoline for the helicopter, float-plane service was
used, and, as in 1956, excellent service was given by Peterson's Air Service, of Atlin. r
SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH GG 35
Triangulation was carried from last year's net to the Hendon River, a distance of
approximately 57 miles. This main net consisted of seventeen main quadrilateral and
thirty-five main triangulation stations. Final positions are now obtainable for this work
as far west as the geodetic net in the vicinity of Bennett Lake, to which a tie was'made.
Beyond or west of here, non-closure results only are obtainable.
Fixation of the original St. Cyr monuments was accomplished by triangulation
methods, from which the distance between monuments may be calculated. Inclusive of
the thirty-five main triangulation stations and monuments, a total of 127 stations were
occupied. Only between Monuments 71 to 72, 72 to 73, 73 to 74, 74 to 75, 79 to 80,
and 80 to 81 were ground methods used for obtaining the distance. Monument 108 was
the only monument no trace of which was found of the original 120 monuments that
were to be renewed during the course of this and the previous season's work. This monument is believed, from information in the original notes, to have been established in a
river-bed of a glacial stream and subsequently had been washed out on flood stage. It
was impossible to determine its exact original position because of the sometimes large
discrepancies found both in distance and azimuth between monuments along this boundary. Re-establishment was made in a safe situation on the banks of the stream on the
line between Monuments 107 and 109.
Azimuths of the courses between monuments were determined by the occupation of
each monument in turn, and where obtainable the angle was read between adjacent monuments and, in fact, to all monuments visible at the time of observation from the occupied
position. These determinations of azimuth were originally derived from Polaris observations and were subsequently controlled by periodic observations for azimuth along the
boundary. As like the previous season, high clouds and overcast limited the number of
these, but successful observations were obtained at Monuments 72, 77, 85a, 98, 108,
116, and 119.
The 9-mile unsurveyed gap between Monuments 118 and 119 now has four monuments established on the straight line between them—namely, Monuments 118a, 118b,
118c, and 118d. Two original monuments were found which do not show on the
original plan. These were occupied, accepted, and treated as an original monument and
given the designating numbers 90a and 95a. In addition to the original monuments and
those just mentioned, ten new monuments (79a, 85a, 93a, 93b, 93c, 94a, 100a, 101a,
116a, and 116b) were established to effect intervisibility of adjacent monuments as called
for in the detailed instructions. This intervisibility is not effected in one case: that of
Monument 90a, which, however, sees other than the adjacent monuments both to the
east and west. There is a distinct break in intervisibility between Monument 115 and
116. On this course the boundary passes over an ice-capped mountain where it was
useless to establish another monument. Fortunately a main triangulation station (Zenith)
is at the south edge of the ice-cap approximately half-way between the two monuments
and 1,300 feet south of the line between them, so this triangulation station makes a suitable reference to the boundary at that point. It is here that the boundary attains its
maximum elevation of that part surveyed, triangulation station "Zenith" being 7,360
feet above sea-level. Monument 120 is the highest monument established, its elevation
being 7,333 feet.
Little of the boundary along the section worked on this year was below timber-line.
In places where it was, such as adjacent to Windy Arm, Bennett Lake, and Partridge
Lake, a 6-foot sky-line was cleared through the timber.
Apart from the high overcast, the weather was excellent this season. The anticipated
wind was not as persistent as usual, nor as strong, so it was not a very serious factor to
contend with, nor were the low clouds. Of eighteen adverse days, only five definitely
grounded us and resulted in nothing done. The heavy snow conditions of the previous
winter were not evident on our arrival; the snow was going fast and, in fact, had left to an GG 36 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
extent not attained until mid-August of the previous year. The ice had left the lakes on
June 7th, so this factor did not retard us in any way. It was this all-round favourable
weather factor which contributed so such to the success of the season's project, in fact
enabled the work to be completed. SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH GG 37
LEGAL SURVEYS DIVISION
D. Pearmain, Chief
The Legal Surveys Division, under the direction of the Surveyor-General, is responsible for cadastral surveys of all Crown lands of the Province. This entails the issuing
of instructions to the land surveyors engaged to make each survey and supplying them
with copies of the field-notes and plans of adjoining or adjacent surveys. After the completion of the survey, the returns are forwarded to this office for checking and plotting.
Included in the above returns are all right-of-way surveys, such as for highways, railways,
transmission-lines, etc. During the year, 488 sets of instructions were issued. This is
an increase of eighty-seven over last year and amounts to an increase of 21 per cent.
In 1957, 508 sets of field-notes covering the surveys of 660 lots were received in
this office and duly indexed, checked, plotted, and official plans prepared therefrom.
Of the above-mentioned surveys, 507 were made under the " Land Act " and 153 under
the " Mineral Act." At the present time there are approximately 94,060 sets of field-
notes on record in our vaults.
There were 317 plans received from surveyors covering surveys made under the
" Land Registry Act." These were duly checked and indexed, and certified copies
deposited in the respective Land Registry Offices.
In order that a graphic record may be kept of alienations of both surveyed and
unsurveyed Crown lands, a set of reference maps must be maintained covering the whole
of the Province. These show all cadastral surveys which are on file in the Department.
These maps are kept up to date by adding new information as it accrues from day to day.
Prints of these maps are available to the public. (See Indexes 1 and 2, contained in
envelope, inside back cover of this Report.)
From the above reference maps, together with other information and facilities maintained by this Division, it is possible to give an up-to-the-minute status on any parcel of
Crown land in the Province.
All applications to purchase or lease Crown lands or foreshore which are received
by the Lands Branch and all applications to purchase Crown timber received by the
Forest Service are channelled through this Division for clearance. The orderly processing of these applications requires that an exhaustive status be made from the reference
maps, official plans, and Land Registry Office plans. A synopsis of the clearances processed during the year will be found in Table A.
It has been necessary during the year, for status purposes, to obtain from the various
Land Registry Offices 497 plans; copies of these have been made, indexed, and filed as
part of our records.
This Division co-operates with other departments of Government by preparing and
checking legal descriptions which they require. Those assisted in this way were the
Attorney-General's Department (descriptions of Small Debts Courts), the Agriculture
Department (descriptions of disease-free areas and pound districts), the Department of
Municipal Affairs (descriptions for the incorporation or amendment of municipal areas),
the Forest Service (descriptions of Provincial forests and working circles), and our own
Lands Branch (descriptions for gazetted reserves of land from alienation, etc.). This
year it has taken 228 man-hours to prepare the descriptions referred to above.
BLUE-PRINT AND PHOTOSTAT SECTION
This Section continues to supply a service to all departments of Government, as
well as supplying all the prints and photostats required by the Surveys and Mapping
Branch. The total number of prints made during the year was 166,334, in the preparation of which 106,798 yards of paper and linen were used. The increase in the number
of prints made this year as against 1956 was 9,998, which is an increase of approximately
6.5 per cent. GG 38 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
The number of photostats made during 1957 was 48,290. This is a decrease of
approximately 2 per cent over the previous year.
During the year a photographic rotary printing-machine was purchased. This
makes it possible for the production of films and contact photographic work up to 42
inches in width and of any length. With this machine we are now preparing photographic
linen transparencies of maps and plans, and these are recognized as the best available
at present.
COMPOSITE MAP SECTION
This Section is responsible for the compilation and tracing of composite maps, at
a scale of 1 inch to 500 feet, of the more thickly subdivided areas of the Province and
generally in unorganized territory. (See Index 3.) Our next project under this type of
mapping is the area between Trail and Nelson along the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers;
part of the necessary field work has already been accomplished.
However, due to the urgency of compiling and retracing some of our reference maps
which have become worn and dilapidated through the constant use which they receive,
and through the increase of our other duties, it has been necessary to suspend the compilation of composite maps for the present time.
It is regrettable that this was necessary; but for the orderly processing of the large
volume of land-application clearances, it is imperative that the reference maps be kept
in the best possible condition.
LAND EXAMINATION PLAN SECTION
This Section is responsible for the preparation of plans for the use of the Land
Inspectors in the inspection of applications for Crown lands. The increase of the work
accomplished by this Section since its inception is shown as follows:—
Year Plans Prepared Year Plans Prepared
1953 1,192 1956 2,340
1954 1,552 1957 2,290
1955 2,030
GENERAL
The programme initiated a year ago in conjunction with the Victoria Land Registry
Office, whereby this Division prepares for them, through the processes available in our
Blue-print and Photostat Section, linen transparencies of certain registered plans which,
through the course of time and continual usage, have become somewhat tattered and
torn, was carried on during the year. The number of plans renewed this year was
seventy-eight.
Through an arrangement worked out between the Department of Lands and Forests
and the Department of Highways and concurred in by the Department of National Defence, it was found to be expedient for the proper understanding of the jurisdiction of
the above-mentioned departments that copies of the plans of the survey of the Alaska
Highway should be deposited in the Land Registry Office at Kamloops. Linen transparencies of the said plans, covering approximately 600 miles of right-of-way, were prepared in this Division and duly deposited at Kamloops.
Through the curtailment of facilities and space in the Property Room in the Main
Building, it was found necessary to remove our supply of standard posts, B.C.L.S. bars,
etc., to the warehouse at 859 Devonshire Road in Victoria West. The orderly receiving
and shipping of these posts is now being carried out from that location.
A detailed synopsis of the surveys made by this Division follows. SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
GG 39
Table A.—Summary of Office Work for the Years 1956 and 1957,
Legal Surveys Division
Number of field-books received.
lots surveyed
lots plotted
lots gazetted
lots cancelled
1956
320
445
425
336
35
mineral-claim field-books prepared 93
reference maps compiled or renewed 23
applications for purchase cleared 2,279
applications for pre-emption cleared 91
applications for lease cleared 1,160
coal licences cleared
water licences cleared
timber sales cleared
Crown-grant applications cleared
reverted-land clearances
cancellations made
18
69
7,164
1,651
880
4,591
inquiries cleared 2,004
placer-mining leases plotted on maps 91
letters received and dealt with 4,937
land-examination plans 2,340
Crown-grant and lease tracings made 1,040
miscellaneous tracings made 115
Government Agents' tracings and prints made 286
photostats made 49,413
blue-prints made 156,336
documents consulted and filed in vault 82,118
1957
508
660
656
566
63
194
11
2,473
156
1,200
2
49
6,330
1,258
260
5,582
1,806
Nil
5,316
2,299
1,660
242
325
48,290
166,334
125,607
FIELD WORK
The field programme included fifty-three surveys of a varied nature, including large
and small subdivisions, foreshore areas, inspection surveys, and road locations and profiles for the University Endowment Lands master-plan survey.
Field inspections made at the request of the Registrars of Titles remained the same
as last year, at five, with the office examination of plans from the same source continuing.
The Department also initiated three field inspections of surveys submitted for approval.
In addition, four parties were engaged in the Peace River District surveying a total
of eighty applications to purchase and lease Crown land.
Highway surveys on a co-operative cost basis with the Department of Highways
netted 35 miles of new road surveyed by two Departmental surveyors.
One land surveyor left the Division in April for greener fields, and it was not possible
to attract another surveyor to fill the position, resulting in a reduction of field work
accomplished. P. M. Monckton, B.C.L.S., who officially retired in May, was persuaded
to stay on until the end of the year, when the Division was left without the services of
this experienced surveyor.
Besides the creation of new corners by survey, the re-establishment of old section
and district lot corners continues on a modest scale in connection with other work.
During the year 216 such corners were renewed. GG 40 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Subdivision, Foreshore, and Planning Surveys
During the year R. W. Thorpe, B.C.L.S., carried out three surveys at the request
of the Forest Service. These were for two Ranger station sites at Powell River and
Chilliwack and an extension to the tree nursery at Duncan. For the Lands Branch, a
subdivision at Savona Ferry Townsite was completed to accommodate squatters on Crown
land, and a small subdivision was made in the Alberni Valley. An area of approximately
25 acres adjoining the highway near Port Alberni was contoured preparatory to a
pending subdivision.
Under the " Land Act," a portion of the frontage of Le Jeune Lake was subdivided
into twenty-eight summer-home site lots, and adjoining these a public reserve of 96 acres
was laid out. A similar survey, involving twelve lots, was carried out on Cuisson Lake.
A preliminary survey was conducted in the False Creek area at Vancouver to determine
the extent of fill recently deposited between Granville Island and the southerly shore.
Two extensive inspection surveys—one at Cowichan Lake and the other north of
Mill Bay—were carried out at the request of the Inspector of Legal Offices.
At the request of the Lands Branch, D. W. Carrier, B.C.L.S., laid out twenty-four
parcels for summer homes in the vicinity of Ruby and Sakinaw Lakes on the Sechelt
Peninsula. At Babine Lake, eighty-four summer-home site lots were surveyed. In the
Chilcotin District, eight home-sites were laid out on Puntzi Lake, twelve on Alexis Lake,
and ten on Fletcher Lake. At Little Prairie, eighty-eight town lots were created as an
extension to the townsite. Two district lots situated on the Batnuni Road about 90 miles
west of Quesnel were surveyed at the request of the Forest Service.
An inspection survey of a " Land Act" survey in the vicinity of Quesnel resulted in
a complete resurvey of the lot in question.
Early in the year G. T. Muffin, B.C.L.S., conducted a preliminary survey of approximately 2,000 acres of the University Endowment Lands. This survey consisted of the
establishment of the outside boundaries and the traversing and profiling of the centre lines
of the main roads of the area to be developed as shown on the designing engineer's plan.
In conjunction with this, a network of bench-marks was established through the area for
future use.
Subdivisions made under the " Land Registry Act" were conducted at Pender
Harbour, Sanca Creek, Deer Park, Nakusp, and Howser.
Foreshore surveys were made at Tyee Lake, Lardeau, and Howser.
Thirty-six summer-home site lots were surveyed at Tyee Lake.
At the request of the Kamloops Registrar, an inspection survey was made in the
vicinity of Summerland.
During the year P. M. Monckton, B.C.L.S., made a preliminary survey of a large
area near Alberni which is being considered for eventual subdivision. A reposting survey
of a large part of the townsite of Smithers was carried out. At the request of the Lands
Branch, nine lots were surveyed in the vicinity of Clinton and a cemetery-site at Zeballos.
At the instigation of the Forest Service, six surveys were carried out at Squamish, Francois
Lake, Seymour Lake, and Ucluelet. The outer boundaries of Extension townsite were
re-established as a preliminary to a reposting survey.
At the request of the Forest Service, the boundaries of the forest nursery and Ranger
school at Green Timbers were resurveyed by A. P. McLaughlin, B.C.L.S., and the corners
of the lots concerned were marked by permanent monuments. At the request of the
Lands Branch, seven home-sites were surveyed at Ruby and Sakinaw Lakes.
Late in the fall a resurvey of Lot 55, Wellington District, was completed by H. V.
Buckley, B.C.L.S.
Highway Surveys
A start was made this season on the survey of the Princeton-Merritt Highway, and
17.5 miles were completed from Princeton to the south end of Allison Lake. A tie was SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
GG 41
made to the survey of the Hope-Princeton Highway. This survey was conducted by
M. Perks, B.C.L.S.
A new tripod beacon was erected on triangulation station " Missezula " for identification on air photographs. Due to the presence of timbered ridges between the station
and the highway, it was considered too time-consuming to make a tie in conjunction with
the highway survey.
A small subdivision was made at Coalmont at the request of the Department of
Highways.
A survey of a 17-mile section of the Northern Trans-Provincial Highway from
6 miles east of Vanderhoof to Engen was carried out by C. R. W. Leak, B.C.L.S., plus
the addition of a 100-foot wide strip of extra right-of-way which the Department of Highways desired to have added to 14 miles of highway which was surveyed in 1956. During
this survey, seventy-three district lot corners were re-established and marked by permanent monuments.
Crown-land Surveys for Settlement
Surveys of applications for Crown lands in the Upper Halfway River valley, Peace
River District, were carried out by A. P. McLaughlin, B.C.L.S. Sixteen lots in all were
surveyed in this area, and they were tied to the geodetic station at Pink Mountain. It
was found impossible to complete this assignment due to excessive rainfall in July and
August, which kept the rivers in flood and semi-flood and thus upset the work programme.
The work assigned to H. V. Buckley, B.C.L.S., consisted of the survey of applications in the Cache Creek area, north-west of Fort St. John. In all, some 8,000 acres
were surveyed. Owing to the adverse weather conditions which existed this year, he also
accomplished less than was planned.
The survey of nineteen applications for Crown lands was carried out by A. W.
Wolfe-Milner, B.C.L.S. These were situated in the vicinity of Little Prairie and East
Pine and covered a total area of 3,850 acres. They comprised applications varying in
size from 8 acres to 640 acres. These surveys were carried out in the fall, and it is
interesting to note that only one day was lost through the stress of weather.
A. Daniluck, B.C.L.S., surveyed twenty-four lots totalling 2,900 acres in the vicinity
of Moberly Lake and Groundbirch, in the Peace River District.
J GG 42 ■ DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
TOPOGRAPHIC DIVISION
A. G. Slocomb, B.C.L.S., Chief
The old saying, " Everybody complains about the weather, but no one does anything
about it," was only partly true this year. Rain and low clouds plagued everyone, particularly in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains. What can be done about it, however,
is a story that still has to be written. The purchase of a Tellurometer should provide the
theme. This distance-measuring instrument operates on radio microwaves of 10 cm.
wavelength. It measures slope distance which may be reduced to the horizontal with
adequate accuracy by means of barometic height differences. Visibility is of no account,
although, in general, line-of sight conditions are required. Designed primarily to meet
the requirements for an instrument of geodetic accuracy over useful geodetic distances,
observations can be made through haze, mist, smoke, and light rain with first-class
results. Heavy rain might reduce the accuracy somewhat, but a result can be obtained.
This instrument was received too late to be included in the current year's field work, but
in preliminary tests and training operations no difficulty was encountered to obtain the
accuracies claimed, using novice operators and often under adverse weather conditions.
Transportation between mountain peaks, now normally by helicopter, would appear to
be the only source of delay to be solved in the future if this instrument lives up to
expectations.
During the summer's operations the Department's Beaver CF-FHF flew 346 hours
and the chartered helicopters (three) totalled 771 flying-hours. Control for twelve
standard National Topographic map-sheets was completed. In addition, mapping control was obtained to produce pondage maps along the Parsnip and Peace Rivers for the
Water Rights Branch. Control for the production of ten 1:25,000 map-sheets in the
Lower Fraser Valley was completed. The contract for the photographs and the compilation of these maps comes under the supervision of the Army Survey Establishment,
Ottawa. This was a combined operation with the Army Survey, Ottawa, the Water
Rights Branch of the Provincial Government, and ourselves participating.
The Sukunka River area in the Rocky Mountains covered Map-sheets 93 P/3, 4, 5,
6, and 93 O/l and 8. (See Fig. 1.) A. D. Wight, B.C.L.S., was in charge, and he
reports as follows:—
"The area was void of old surveys except for the perimeters which were earlier
covered on the north and west by the 1928 Pacific Great Eastern Railway resources
survey, followed by the right-of-way traverse along the John Hart Highway. The main
geodetic triangulation net now supersedes the original P.G.E. triangulation along the John
Hart Highway. The eastern boundary adjoins the Topographic Division's 1956 work.
A line of geodetic levels, run along the highway, provided first-order elevations, while the
geodetic triangulation net provided the first-order base and positions.
"A series of six quadrilaterals bridged the gap from the Provincial 1956 main triangulation on the eastern perimeter to the geodetic net in the west. The majority of the
secondary stations were fixed by a minimum of two three-angled triangles, one side being
common to both the triangle and the main network of quadrilaterals. They were positioned to provide horizontal control for the vertical air photos for multiplex extensions.
A panorama of terrestrial photographs were exposed from each triangulation station to
supply the vertical angles necessary to compile elevations for vertical control.
"The terrain was ideally formed for photo-topographic control, particularly in the
western section, where a series of paralleling ridges spaced from 4 to 5 miles apart ran in
a north-westerly direction. The eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains were not so
ideally formed, but had sufficient clear-topped mountains for this procedure. Helicopter
landings were good, and in most cases within a few minutes' walk of the objective. SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
GG 43
MAIN TRIANGULATION A
SECONDARY TRIANGULATION •
Fig. 1. GG 44 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
"A supply camp was established at Tudyah Lake to purchase and deliver all necessary supplies to this crew and to the party working in the Rocky Mountain Trench.
The Beaver aircraft and all vehicles were based at this camp.
" Experienced personnel is still the major problem facing the party chiefs in the field.
Our system of training iristrumentmen through schooling is valuable, but it will not
replace experience. The trek of experienced men to private practice still continues, and
even though the yardstick of accomplishment measures well, it does not reveal the
additional responsibility of the party chief working with a 'green' crew.
" The weather showed little mercy through the major portion of the season. June
was marginal and work progressed slowly. During July and the first half of August,
activity lay dormant under a heavy layer of persistent cloud which drenched the countryside to the point of saturation. The latter part of August produced nine good days, during
which thirty-four stations were occupied, completing six map-sheets.
"Two hundred and seventy vertical overlaps cover this area, ninety-five of which
are Federal Government photographs exposed from 35,000 feet covering four of the
map-sheets. The remaining two map-sheets were consistently covered by 175 overlaps
of Provincial 18,000-foot flying. The total of sixty-six triangulation stations and 120
rolls of horizontal photographs exposed were distributed between the map-sheets proportionally to the number of overlaps. One district lot and two geodetic bench-marks were
tied into the triangulation network. The average triangle closure was 4.03 seconds for
the main triangulation and 5.38 seconds for the 118 secondary triangles.
" The efficiency of the field work increased as the summer progressed. This was due
to the instrumentmen becoming more adept at their jobs through gained experience,
becoming familiar with the area, and a spell of suitable weather. During the month of
June an instrumentman and a helper were sent out to each station, and it often took two
days to complete one station. In August these same instrumentmen were being sent out
alone and completing the station in one day. The work required consisted of a minimum
of ten multiple angles, a round of photographs, camera stations where required, and
photograph identifying the station. A crew of four instrumentmen, each capable of doing
a station in five to eight hours, and a helicopter are a very efficient unit for mountain
triangulation.
" The system of occupying stations by day in preference to fly camping proved satisfactory, with several advantages. It eliminated the long, lonely, uncomfortable weeks
spent camped on exposed mountain-tops, and also reduced the helicopter flying-time.
A total of 233 helicopter-hours were flown on this phase of the season's job.
"By the end of August it was evident that the crew working on the pondage of the
Rocky Mountain Trench could not complete their assignment, so the southern section of
this pondage area was reassigned to us.
" The Federal Government had previously controlled the area for standard 1:50,000
topographic sheets with 100-foot contours. This existing control was to be used for
horizontal positions and vertical control obtained to produce a 20-foot contour interval
at the scale of 1,000 feet to the inch extending to 2,600 feet elevation.
"The area consisted of approximately 1,800 square miles in the Crooked River
and Parsnip River watershed. It is covered by 370 vertical overlaps of British Columbia
Land Service photography. The dense forest-cover and the large area involved made
barometric elevations the only feasible way to control the major portion of the area.
Openings in this forest mat were provided only by lakes and swamps. The helicopter
was therefore converted from skids to pontoons to permit water landings.
" Barometric elevations require all possible refinements to produce vertical control
with a suitable accuracy for 20-foot contours. The vertical range was favourable, being
limited to a difference in elevation of about 500 feet. The second important refinement
was to limit the range of the roving barometer to a maximum of 10 miles from the base SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH GG 45
barometer. This was accomplished by using a modification of the leap-frog system,
which we called the ' travelling-base system.'
" The John Hart Highway traverses the centre of this area, and along it the geodetic
bench-marks are located. This provided a series of known elevations from which barometric loops were run. Adjacent loops had common points, which produced independent
elevations for these points. The agreement between these independent values was generally good, but when an appreciable difference occurred, additional loops were run into
the point until a reliable value was established. Two hundred and five barometric values
were thus obtained, thirty of which had two or more independent values. The average
agreement for those points with multiple values was ±4 feet. A further test of the
accuracy was made by plotting a gradient for each river and stream that had a series of
barometric elevations. All these elevations plotted within a few feet of a mean curve
drawn through the plotted elevations. The only positive check was at one of F. O.
Speed's new stations where the barometric and trigonometric elevations agreed to a foot.
The final proof will not come until the elevations are used in the multiplex; however,
from all indications the values obtained will be suitable. Further refinement on this
accuracy could be accomplished in the future by the purchase of the more modern
instant reacting barometers that will read directly to 2 feet.
"A second helicopter, available after the completion of the British Columbia-Yukon
Boundary survey, was used to occupy nine triangulation stations in the Upper Parsnip
River and its tributaries. The headwaters of these rivers extended the job up the valley
well into the Rocky Mountains. In this area the rough terrain made barometric elevations unreliable and terrestrial photographs more accurate and economical.
" This vertical control job occupied approximately three weeks and required 100
hours of helicopter flying-time. The pilot for the major portion of this time was the late
Ted Henson, of Vancouver Island Helicopters, his last large flying job.
" The remaining week of the helicopter contract was used in the Clinton area on
Map-sheet 92 P/4. Experimental use of the Tellurometer, the new electronic distance-
measuring device of first-order accuracy, was carried out. The shortage of time prevented any appreciable amount of control being completed with this instrument. However, sufficient was accomplished to give an insight into the revolutionary aspects this
instrument will have on future mapping control jobs. One small crew in a very short
season of good weather could do sufficient work to overtax the present plotting and
draughting facilities of the entire Division."
F. O. Speed, B.C.L.S., was in charge of the Parsnip River-Peace River area. He
controlled Map-sheets 93 0/6, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 94 B/4, and in addition obtained
control for the 1,000-feet-to-l-inch pondage maps, which are to be produced with a
20-foot contour interval up to the 2,600-foot level. (See Plate 1.)
The base camp at Tudyah Lake supplied Mr. Speed, arid he had one helicopter
permanently all summer, also a 38-foot river-boat powered with a 25-horsepower Johnson outboard motor. His preliminary work was to obtain the vertical control in the area
around Tudyah Lake southwards to Summit Lake for the Water Rights Branch pondage
map. This consisted of the photo indentification of the Canada Geodetic Survey's benchmarks located along the John Hart Highway and the obtaining of barometer elevations,
using the helicopter for transportation of the operator and the roving barometers.
The single-base method was first used, then the two-base method, but the results
were not satisfactory as the weather was unsettled and unsuitable for barometer work.
It also became evident that to obtain vertical control to the required accuracy, the
barometers had to be placed on the ground at the lakes. The method of hovering 5 feet
above the lake did not give a satisfactory result. It was then decided to temporarily
suspend work on this phase of the mapping operation until the helicopter could be
equipped with pontoons and the weather had become more stable for the barometer work. GG 46 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
The triangulation network of the P.G.E. resources survey of 1929 provided a scattering of old triangulation stations in the Rocky Mountain Trench which ran diagonally
through the central portion of these map-sheets. Even though this triangulation network
was not always satisfactory position-wise, it was not practical to superimpose a new main
triangulation network over the old accepted and adjusted one.
Because of poor weather and other commitments, it was impossible to complete
a secondary triangulation network down the Clearwater and Peace Rivers, which would
have greatly helped in the adjustment of some of the secondary triangulation stations.
The second main camp was erected at the confluence of the Nation and Parsnip
Rivers, as its central location aided the helicopter operation; also, it provided a close
and convenient landing and loading area for the Beaver float-plane.
Inclement weather during June and July prevented any appreciable progress in the
mapping. Crews had to be returned to the main camp because high winds and rain had
destroyed their tents in the mountain fly camps. During this period, only valley work was
possible as the tops of the mountains were invisible, being constantly shrouded in clouds.
To extend the valley work, the third main camp was set up at Finlay Forks. On
completion of the Map-sheets 93 0/6, 11, 12, 13, and 94 B/4 by the early part of
September, work was commenced to extend a triangulation network down the Peace River
from stations " Scarp " and " Hearne " near Finlay Forks to the triangulation stations
" Portage " and " Bullhead " near Hudson Hope. We were able to complete Map-sheet
93 0/14 by setting additional triangulation stations in conjunction with this network.
In order to close this triangulation network it will be necessary to extend either
southwards to the primary geodetic triangulation stations " N. Cruiser " and " Bickford "
or eastwards along the Peace River to the primary geodetic triangulation stations " Skin "
and " Peace " located near Charlie Lake.
In 1956, R. G. Fernyhough (Water Rights Branch) tied in to the triangulation
stations of "Portage" and "Bullhead" and Geodetic Bench-marks 689h and 690h,
terminal monuments of a spur line to the head of the Peace River Canyon. Ties were
made to some of R. G. Fernyhough's bench-marks along the Peace River and also to his
triangulation stations "Terrace" and "Scarp."
A total of 585 vertical air photographs were controlled and 680 horizontal ground
photographs were taken from the triangulation stations. Three hundred and seventeen
triangulation stations were occupied; this included the reoccupying of many of the 1929
P.G.E. resources survey triangulation stations.
Because the crew had had a very limited experience with stereoscopic photographic
identification and were unable to positively identify mapping control in mountainous
areas, low-level identification photographs of each station had to be taken from the
Beaver aircraft to enable this work to be done in the office.
The Geographic Division had requested that a block of lots west of Hudson Hope
be tied into our triangulation network to assist in the fixing of the location of petroleum
permits. It was possible to locate and tie in one corner post to triangulation station
"Carol."
Also completed was a small legal survey subdivision of Lot 7463 at Finlay Forks,
as requested by the Survey-General. A tie was made between triangulation station
" MacDougall" and the Federal water-gauge at Finlay Forks.
The early history of this area is well recorded in the books of Alexander Mackenzie
and William I3utler. The route taken in 1793 by Alexander Mackenzie on his historic
journey to the Pacific Ocean was up the Peace and Parsnip Rivers. The names of the
early gold-miners Jacque Pardonet and Pete Toy, along with Charles Ducette, a boatman
of Alexander Mackenzie, can now be found on our present-day maps, whereas the old
Indian name of Unshagah (Unjigah) River is now known as the Peace River, this name
having been derived from Peace Point, the place where the Knisteneaux and Beaver
Indians settled their dispute. The Finlay River is named after James Finlay, who travelled SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH GG 47
the river in 1797. On the Peace River there are only two rapids of any importance—the
Finlay Rapids, which are located just below the confluence of the Parsnip and Finlay
Rivers, and La Rapide Qui Ne Parle Pas, which are approximately 32 miles down-river
and now known as the Ne Parle Pas Rapids. On July 11th, 1875, Alfred R. C. Selwyn,
of the Federal Government Geological Branch, accompanied by Professor John Macoun,
climbed a mountain now named Mount Selwyn, which is located near Finlay Forks.
The Parsnip River is still used for river-boat freighting, with the boats loading at the
Parsnip River Bridge on the John Hart Highway. The supplies are freighted as far north
as Fort Graham and Fort Ware. Float-planes are also used extensively in the area, and
Pacific Western Airlines make scheduled flights from Prince George with mail and
passengers. Easy accessibility from the east is provided by the valley through which the
Peace River leaves the Rocky Mountain Trench and passes through the Rocky Mountain
Range to emerge on the eastern slopes of the range at Hudson Hope. This route is
mainly used by river-boats bringing in fishing parties and vacationers. The road from
Hudson Hope ends approximately 2 miles west of Gold Bar, at Beatty's farm at Allard
Creek, thereby making it possible to put the river-boats in the Peace River above the
unnavigable Peace River Canyon.
During the past few years a considerable amount of surveying and investigation have
been done in connection with the proposed dam-sites on the Peace River.
A. M. Barber, B.C.L.S., completed three projects—the first a triangulation tie
between the Provincial net at the junction of the Kechika and Gataga Rivers and the
geodetic network at Muncho Lake. Using a helicopter for transportation and enjoying
fine weather, this 50-mile tie was completed in fifteen days. Twelve stations were occupied, ten of which produced four fully read quadrilaterals. Moving to Prince George,
Mr. Barber and his crew completed control for a special 200-feet-to-l-inch map with
a 5-foot contour interval requested by the Regional Planning Board. By the end of July
Mr. Barber was ready to move to his third area, a 50-square-mile section around Lac la
Hache, requested by the Water Rights Branch for its studies of the San Jose River
drainage. This was to be plotted at the scale of 500 feet to 1 inch with a 10-foot contour
interval. Following this operation, Mr. Barber took charge of the Tudyah Lake base
camp for the balance of the field season.
K. M. Bridge, B.C.L.S., was in charge of the Lower Fraser Valley survey. Control
was obtained by traverse and level. His efficient and well co-ordinated traverse party
regularly averaged 5 miles a day, and on some as much as 8 or 9 miles were completed.
Azimuths were run with a Wild T16 and a Wild traversing kit. Distances were
double-chained with an agreement of 1 in 5,000 or better. Levelling was done with
Zeiss levels. Transportation on the job was by two Land Rovers. The party also had
a Volkswagen bus and an International half-ton truck.
Existing control was very scarce, except for the boundary monuments along the 49th
parallel. Because of the large number of roads and the general flatness of the area,
traverses were run to control the photography. The traverses were tied to the boundary
monuments and to geodetic station "Burke."
Some 300 miles of traverses were run to control the area, including 40 miles of levels
north of the Fraser River. The vertical control south of the river was done the previous
winter by C. A. Matson, B.C.L.S. One hundred and seven permanent monuments were
tied in, and in addition some twenty legal survey monuments were tied into the traverse.
The work on the whole went well, with minimum time lost for travelling and moving.
The party moved north to Haney for about two weeks while the work was being done
north of the river, but it was found to be more convenient and economical to commute
via ferry from Fort Langley. There was no time lost due to weather, as there was always
computing and office work to be done. Air photographs used during the summer were
flown in 1954, and lacking in detail because of the large amount of development in the GG 48 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
area. The new flying which was to be done during the summer (contract) was not done
until the day the field work was completed. The original intent was to control photographs flown north and south at approximately 10,000 feet above sea-level, but the contracting firm flew the area at 17,500 feet above sea-level, east and west, so consequently
the majority of the control fell in the wrong places and twice as much work was done than
would have been necessary if the field party had been informed of the change in plans.
The Multiplex Section had a busy year, but was handicapped somewhat because the
new addition to its building was not completed to allow full utilization of all available
machines. Four large tables and four small tables were in constant use, and the summary
that follows gives details of the year's production from them. The remaining four small
tables were temporarily housed in a room on the first floor of Temporary Building No. 3.
This room is unsuitable for multiplex operation, and, therefore, these machines were only
employed for training and for plotting projects of low precision. It is to be hoped that
the completion of the multiplex building will be done as soon as possible.
A further investigation was carried out concerning the distortion existing in the
multiplex model. It was found that certain modifications to our projectors were indicated,
and it is expected that upon their completion future mapping projects will be processed
more efficiently than in the past.
Record
No.
Project
Authority
Scale
Vertical
Interval
Area
(Sq. Mi.)
M36
M37
M38
Moose River
Mount Robson
Water Rights Branch
Water Rights Branch
Water Rights Branch _'_
Water Rights Branch
Water Rights Branch
Regional Planning Board
1"=1,000'
1"=1,000'
1"= 1,000'
1"= 500'
1"= 600'
1"= 200'
1"=1,000'
[ 1"_=2,640'
j 1"_=1,320'
1"—2.640'
20', 40'
20', 40'
20', 40'
20'
20'
5'
20', 40'
) 30', 100'
100'
48.6
77.5
64.1
33.0
63.0
6.0i
20.01
3,100.0
79.0
857.0
M39
M42
M45
M49
Dease River dam-sites
Peace River dam-sites
Prince George West
M50
M54
Dawson Creek-Stony Lake...
Big Bar _
Coast Sheets 92m/3, 4, 5
Total area
Topographic Division
M58
Topographic Division
1"___2,640' 100'
|
4,348.0
1
i Approximately.
The draughting office is responsible for the fair drawing of the National Topographic
Series manuscripts, drawn to the sale of 1 inch to one-half mile, also the compilation of
the cadastral surveys on all National Topographic Series manuscripts produced by the
Federal Government at the same scale.
With the transferring of the Multiplex Section early this year to the Topographic
Division, the amount of work has greatly increased by the additional duty of preparing
tracings of all the multiplex large-scale mapping. A total of fifty-one sheets were
completed.
The Division now has completed 166 metal-backed manuscripts, six of which were
finalized during the year, plus forty-seven old photo-topographic manuscripts and thirty
part sheets. There are forty-eight manuscripts in the course of compilation.
The Federal Government now has seventy-four manuscripts on hand for printing
which are in various stages of lithography.
Compilations of cadastral surveys on Federal Government manuscripts this year
totalled forty-eight at the scale of 40 chains to 1 inch and two sheets at the scale of
2 miles to 1 inch.
Copies of the multiplex large-scale mapping and the above-mentioned completed
manuscripts are available upon request. SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
GG 49
List of British Columbia Topographic Manuscripts Showing Date Surveyed
(See Index 4.)
.1944,
..1937, 1938;
1938,
..1942, 1943,
Sheet
82 F/3
82 F/4
82K/11, W.
82 K/12
92 B/5
92 B/6, W
92B/11, W
92 B/12 —- _
92 B/13 .
92 B/14
92 C/8
92 C/9
92 C/10
92 C/ll
92 C/13 _
92 C/14
92 C/15 __
92 C/16
92 E/l
92E/7 _
92E/8 _ 1943,
92 E/9 1938, 1946,
92E/10 _
92E/14
92 E/16
92F/1
.1937,
.1937,
.1937,
. 1937,
.1937,
1938,
92 F/2 --
92 F/3
92 F/4 _._.
92F/5
92F/6
92F/7
92 F/8
92F/9
92F/10
92F/11 _
92 F/12
92F/13
92F/14
92 F/15, part
92F/16, part
92 G/4
92G/5
92 G/7, part _
92 G/10, part
92G/11
92G/12
92G/13
92 G/14
. 1938,
.1938,
1940,
1940,
1937, 1938,
.1937, 1940, 1941,
.1942,
1942, 1943,
1950,
1934,
.1936, 1937,
1935,
.1942,
.1950,
.1950.
. 1950.
92 H/l
1920, 1923,
92 H/2 .
1923,
92 H/3
92 H/4 __
1924, 1931, 1948,
1948,
92 J/15
1948,
92 J/16
1948,
92 K/1, part
92 K/3
92K/4
92 K/5
92 K/6
92L/1
92 L/2 ... .
1931.
92 L/3
92 L/4
92 L/6
1931
92L/7
92 L/8
92 L/10, part
92L/11
1931, 1940,
92L/12
1935.
92 L/13
92 M/3 _.
92M/4
92M/5
92 O/l
92 0/2
1951
1947
1952
1952
1955
1955
1955
1955
1951
1951
1938
1938
1938
1938
1938
1938
1938
1942
1942
1946
1946
1947
1947
1948
1947
1942
1942
1941
1942
1943
1943
1943
1950
1950
1953
1935
1938
1936
1935
1950
1950
1943
1952
1940
1940
1952
1952
1952
1952
1949
1949
1949
1956
1949
1949
1950
1949
1949
1949
1949
1932
1932
1948
1948
1934
1931
1932
1956
1940
1936
1936
1957
1957
1957
1950
1947
Sheet
92 0/7, part
Date
1950
92 0/8
...... 1950
92 0/9
1951
92 0/16
1951
93 A/2, part
i936
93 A/5 _. ._
_ 1935
93 A/6
1935
93 A/7, part
1936
93 A/10, part
1934
93 A/11
_ 1933, 1934
93 A/12
93 A/13
1931, 1933, 1934
. 1934
93 A/14
___1933, 1934
93 A/15, part __
1934
93 B/l _!
1951
93 B/8
1952
93 B/9
1950
93 B/16
.... 1950
93 G/l, part
1933
93 G/2, part
1933
93 G/7, part
1933
93 G/8, part
._ 1933
93 G/14
_ 1948
93 H/3, part
1934
93 1/8
_ 1956
93 1/9 _.
_ 1956
93 1/10
1956
93 1/15
1956
93 1/16
. ... 1956
93 J/2
1949
93 J/3
1949
93 K/1
93 K/2 _
1946
_ 1946
93 L/2
1951
93 L/7
_ 1951
93 L/8
__ 1951
93 L/9
_ 1951
93 L/10 _
1950, 1951
93L/11
1950
93 L/14 _
. __ .... 1950
93 M/5
1949
93 M/12
_ _.. 1949
93 O/l
1957
93 0/6 _ _
.... 1957
93 0/8
1957
93 O/l 1
_ 1957
93 0/12 _
1957
93 0/13 _.
_ 1957
93 0/14
.... 1957
93 P/l - __ _
1956
93 P/2
1956
93 P/3
1957
93 P/4 _ ._ .
1957
93 P/5
._._ . 1957
93 P/6
.___ 1957
93 P/7 „...
1956
93 P/8
1956
94 B/4 ___
1939, 1957
94 C, parts
__. 1939
94 E, parts
1939
94 F, parts _
1939
1940, 1941
94 M, parts
1941
102 1/8 _
1935, 1937
102 1/9
1935, 1936 1937
102 1/15 __
1937
102 1/16
1936, 1937
103 1/2
1949
103 1/7 .
1948
103 1/10
1947
103 P/9 _
1949
103 P/10, E. _
_._ 1950
103 P/14, E
__ 1950
103 P/l5
1950
104 A/2, W.
1950
104 A/3
-- 1950 GG 50 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
List of British Columbia Topographic Manuscripts Showing
Date Surveyed—Continued
Sheet Date Sheet Date
104 A/5, E 1950 104 J/5 _ 1952
104 A/6 _ _ 1950 104 J/12 1952
104 A/11, W. 1951 104 J/13 1952
104 A/12 1951 104 K/16, E _ 1952, 1953
104 A/13, W 1951 104 N/1 1952, 1953
104B/16 1951 104 N/2 1953
104 G/l 1951 104 N/3, E 1953
104 G/8 1951 104 N/5 1952
104 G/9 1951 104 N/6 1952, 1953
104 G/14 .....1951 104 N/7, part 1953
104G/15 1951 104 N/11 W 1952
104 G/16 _ .1951 ™ ™g W \Hl
104 H/i2, w 1951 ]r_ „'" ";;;
104 H/n! W 1951 104 N/13 - 1952
104 J/2, W. __. 1952 I04 P. Part _.. 1941
104 J/3 1952 104 P/15 1941
104 J/4 1952 104 P/16, part - _ 1941 SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
GG 51
List of Large-scale Mapping
(See Index 6.)
No.
Name
Contour
Interval
Number
of Sheets
Date
XI
S.P. 1
S.P. 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
24
28
M2
M3
M4
M5
M6
M7
M8
M9
Mil
M12
M13
M14
M15
M 16
M17
M21
M24
M26
M27
M28
M29
M30
M34
M36
M37
M38
M39
M40
M42
M43
M44
M45
M54
M56
M59
M62
M63
M64
M66
M67
Goldflelds..
Richmond._
Lower Fraser Valley—
Squamish
Aleza Lake
Tamihi Creek
Earle Creek. ~
Lawless Creek
Kemano
Mount Farrow
Moran Dam-site
Salmo
Moran Pondage
University Lands
Trout Lake _
Fraser Pondage
Fraser Pondage.
Gulf Islands
Agassiz
Delta Municipality
Doukhobor Lands (two areas)..
Brooks Peninsula
Agassiz (Extension)
Moran Pondage
Clearwater
Morice Lake
Naver Creek
Chilcotin River
Gaspard Creek
Churn Creek
Willow River _
Upper McGregor River
Sinclair Mills
HobsonLake
Moran-Lytton
Penticton-Osoyoos
Kelowna
Westbank _
Lower McGregor River
Creston
Clearwater
San Jose
Taghum
Peace River Pondage
Stikine River Pondage
Naramata
Goat River
Fruitvale
Moose River
Mount Robson...
McLennan River
Dease River Dam-site
Chilliwack River
Peace River Dam-site
Alert Bay
Prince George East
Prince George West
Big Bar __
Lac la Hache
Eaglet Lake
Alberni
Parsnip River Pondage
Clearwater
Glen Lake
Chemainus River
. 1"=
800'
900'
1,000'
1,320'
200'
600'
1,000'
20 ch.
550'
10 ch.
10 ch.
10 ch.
1,300'
13 ch.
100'
1,000'
500'
100'
1,000'
500'
500'
1,320'
200'
200'
400'
1,320'
400'
500'
500'
1,000'
1,320'
500'
500'
500'
1,000'
1,000'
500'
1,000'
500'
500'
500'
500'
1,000'
500'
500'
500'
300'
1,000'
= 400'
= 200'
= 500'
= 1,000'
= 1,000'
= 1,000'
= 500'
= 600'
= 600'
= 1,320'
= 200'
= 200'
=2,640'
: 500'
= 1,320'
= 500'
100'
Mosaic
400'
400'
5'-50' then 50'
18
20'
O)
20'
100'
50'
50'
13
50'
500'
1
5'
1
50'
38
20'-^0'
8
5'
50'
10'-20'
6
20'-40'
13
50'
5'
28
Spot heights
73
5'-10'-20'
100'
20'-100'
(2)
20'-40'
11
20'-40'
12
50-
50'
20'-40'
6
20'-40'
1
20'-40'
1
50'
20'
3
20'
39
50'
8
20'-40'
23
10'
11
W
5
10'
2
20'
7
5'-10'-15'
7
20'-40'
20
10'
8
5'-10'-20'
20'
10'
2
Planimetric
4
10'-20'
2
20'-40'
4
20--40'
5
20'-40'
3
20'
9
20'
7
20'
10
50'
5'
2
5'
8
100'
1
2<y
10
20'
2
10'
2
10'
10'
4
1957
1952
1951/52
1950
1951/52
1951
1952/53
1951
1951/52
1952
1952
1952
1953
1951
1953
1953
1953/54
1953/54
1953/54
1954
1954/55
1955
1955
1955
1955
1955/56
1956
1956
1955
1955
1954
1954
1954
1956
1954
1955
1956
1958
1956
1956
1957
1957
1956/57
1956/57
1956/57
1956
1957
1956
1958
1958
1957
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
1958
i One of Map 5e.
2 See No. 17. GG 52 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
GEOGRAPHIC DIVISION
W. R. Young, B.C.L.S., Chief, and Provincial Representative on
Canadian Board on Geographical Names
Reports of previous years have outlined in detail the functions of this Division, and
the yearly activities have been described under the sectional headings of Administration,
Computations, Geographer, Geographical Naming and Map Checking, Map Compilation
and Reproduction, and Map Distribution. The same order will be followed in reporting
the activities for the year 1957, and it therefore seems unnecessary to repeat the Division's
functions since, as the sectional activities are dealt with in the following pages, they will
be self-evident.
Briefly, the Division concentrated on the production of new National Topographic
Series maps of 1 inch to 2 miles; however, due to the need for reprinting many of the
older-type maps in short supply but still in demand, only three were published. Seven
others are in hand, and it is expected that at least two more will be published before the
end of the fiscal year.
In addition to the reprints referred to, work was continued on the 1-inch-to-10-miles
and National Topographic Series 1: 250,000 maps, together with new editions of general
maps. The usual amount of work was also undertaken for other departments for special
projects.
The yearly records show a considerable increase in the number of maps received into
stock as compared with 1956, while the number of maps issued during the same period
was approximately 4,000 less than in 1956, but, strangely, although map prices have not
changed (except in one instance), the value of the maps distributed remained the same.
The Gazetteer staff was again kept busy with name-checking in connection with
Provincial publications and maps of the Province being printed at Ottawa.
Normal calculations were carried out in connection with field surveys of the Branch,
and the task of converting all boundaries of petroleum and natural gas permits to the unit
and zone system was completed in conformity with the " Petroleum and Natural Gas Act."
Other activities of the Division, together with more details of those already mentioned, are dealt with under the headings referred to above.
ADMINISTRATION
While not seriously affecting production, staff changes continue to be a problem.
The Assistant Mathematical Computer and one senior computer left the Service, whilst
two trained cartographic draughtsmen left the Division—one resigned for reasons of
health and one transferred within the Branch. Fortunately the two computers have been
replaced, but only after a considerable waiting period; only one of the draughtsmen has
been replaced as yet.
By degrees, the adoption of negative engraving techniques in the reproduction of
maps is becoming more widespread, and they are being applied to more of the Division's
work. The advantages of such techniques are apparent in the resulting fineness and
uniformity of line work on published maps.
The Division was fortunate in being able to send the Mathematical Computer on a
course conducted by the University of British Columbia Evening Division in connection
with electronic digital computers, which included practical application in the use of the
ALWAC computer at the University. The course proved to be of considerable value,
and it is hoped that it can be followed up by more particular assistance in the application
of such equipment to our specific requirements.
COMPUTATIONS
Some increase in the Topographic Division's field work for standard mapping
control has resulted in more of what we have come to think of as "normal " calculations; SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH GG 53
i.e., extension of the Provincial main triangulation network and calculation of secondary
stations as basic control for mapping. In addition, and as a result of the triangulation
extension, much of the Rocky Mountain Trench triangulation together with John Hart
Highway and Alaska Highway monuments were converted to final geodetic survey
datum—no small task. Other work included the conversion to the new system of all
remaining petroleum and natural gas permits (already mentioned) and calculation of a
control network in the Bute Inlet-Chilco Lake area, calculation and adjustment of British
Columbia-Yukon Boundary control from Atlin Lake westwards, and calculation of control in connection with the proposed Granduc tunnel in the vicinity of Stewart. Details
are carried in the statistical tables following this report.
GEOGRAPHER
Two new land bulletins were prepared and published during the year, namely, No.
4 (Vancouver Island) and No. 5 (Quesnel-Lillooet); both have received favourable
comment regarding their presentation of up-to-date information and have been much in
demand since their publication. Field studies were carried out in connection with the
Okanagan Bulletin Area, and additional information was obtained at the same time in the
Kamloops Bulletin Area; texts and maps for both are well in hand and will be ready for
publication shortly.
The Geographer has been asked to serve on a Centennial Year committee whose
task is to prepare descriptive texts in connection with historic sites throughout the Province. This task, which at first seemed quite simple, has, as perhaps similar committee
members in the past could have predicted, assumed proportions beyond all original
expectations.
GEOGRAPHICAL NAMING AND MAP-CHECKING
The tables following this report show the volume of maps and charts checked for
geographical names, together with the total number of names checked and new names
added to the records.
In addition to checking and revising proofs of new Divisional maps before printing,
this Section checked and,where necessary, revised proofs of fifty-seven new maps of parts
of British Columbia being prepared by the Army Survey Establishment of the Department
of National Defence and Department of Mines and Technical Surveys, Ottawa, and six
Topographic Division manuscripts were checked before being shipped to Ottawa for
reproduction.
Field culture checks were again carried out in connection with National Topographic l-inch-to-2-miles mapping and covering the areas 82 E/SE (Grand Forks) and
82 F/SW (Trail). When published, these maps will largely replace several sheets in the
old Regional series, namely, 4a, Rossland (now very much out of date), 4k, Kettle Valley
(out of print), and 4b, Nelson.
MAP COMPILATION AND REPRODUCTION
As mentioned earlier in this report, the Cartographic Section is by degrees increasing
the use of negative engraving and photo-mechanical methods of map compilation and
reproduction, employing them now in certain map series where they were previously
thought to be unsuitable. However, it has been a disappointment to the Division that,
as yet, there has been no opportunity to acquire or have access to modern photographic
equipment nearer than Vancouver which is capable of handling large compilations. Apart
from the convenience of having such equipment close at hand, the risks inherent in
moving compilations off the Island can be grave. Changes in temperature and humidity
can quite easily cause damage to " patch-ups " and change in scale of materials, causing,
at the best, extra work and, at the worst, poor register in the published map. GG 54 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
A good year's work was nevertheless completed by this Section, fourteen maps being
published during the twelve-month period, three of which were in the National Topographic l-inch-to-2-miles series; seven others are in hand. Two sheets in the National
Topographic 1:250,000 series were also published, together with the third (three editions) in the new 1-inch-to-10-miles series and two completely new compilations of basic
Provincial maps—one at l-inch-to-55-miles scale and the other (the very popular Map
1 j) at l-inch-to-30-miles scale, plus two land bulletin maps. Of the older-type regional
Pre-emptors' Series maps, four were republished, two with major revisions; a fifth, also
with major revisions, is in hand.
Seventy-seven Provincial Topographic manuscripts were printed by the Canadian
Government agencies during the year; of these, thirty-four were new publications and
forty-three were 1-inch-to-1-mile scale maps converted to 1:50,000 scale. We received
major stocks of all of these in return for our co-operation in checking and colour-proving
and for our work in preparing the manuscripts. In addition, Ottawa agencies published
three maps in British Columbia at 1:250,000 scale and seventeen at 1:50,000 scale.
One hundred and three additional Provincial Topographic manuscripts in the National
Topographic 1:50,000 series, either new or revised editions, are in hand for publishing
at Ottawa.
Separate from the maps referred to above, the Army Survey Establishment at Ottawa
has recently instituted a new type of map following the National Topographic Series but
known as Provisional maps. These maps, comprising all their completed but previously
unpublished manuscripts, are lithographed in two colours (black and light blue) with
contours. During the year we received small stocks of one at 1:250,000 scale and
seventy-one half-sheets at 1: 50,000 scale.
Similarly, the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys is converting to 1:50,000
scale, without revision and also in Provisional editions, certain old 1-inch-to-1-mile scale
maps. Ten such sheets have been produced to date, and all maps of this type have been
shown in a special key on the Index to Published Maps contained in a pocket inside the
back cover, Index 14.
As in the past, this Division undertook many miscellaneous draughting and other
tasks for other departments, the total such being eighty-six, comprising 1,063 man-hours
for a work value of $2,654.
The usual assistance was given where required in the preparation of descriptions for
administrative district boundaries and in assembling, editing, and distributing the Lands
Service Annual Report.
MAP DISTRIBUTION
A total of 55,167 maps were distributed during the year, and 181,412 maps were
taken into stock; very little change in the distributed maps compared with 1956, but a
considerable increase in the number added to stock, a situation accounted for largely by
the conversion of National Topographic 1-inch-to-1-mile editions to 1:50,000 scale
which are published in half-sheets, thus doubling the number of maps for an equivalent area.
Of the 55,167 maps issued, 38,358 were sold and 16,809 were issued departmentally
or by way of automatic mailing-lists in the case of new publications. Total value of maps
issued was $20,441.95.
Details regarding maps published and in hand are contained in the tables following
this report, and indexes of published maps available, together with information regarding
prices, scales, dates of publication, etc., are contained in a pocket inside the back cover,
Indexes 8 to 14. SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
STATISTICAL
Computations
Least-square Triangulation Adjustments Completed
GG 55
Net
Locality
Type of
Bearings
Number of
Triangles
Involved
Provincial Main.
Provincial Main..
Provincial Main-
Provincial Main-
Provincial Secondary-
Provincial Secondary-
South of Peace River Block—
British Columbia-Yukon Boundary
Rocky Mountain Trench (portion)..
Finlay Forks-Skeena River
Homathko-Chilco Lake
Bute Inlet
True
True
True
True
Grid
Grid
186
48
77
98
115
43
The following tables give comparisons with the previous five-year period:—
Computations
1 1 I
1952 1 1953 1954
1 1 1
1955
1956
1957
Triangles adjusted by least squares
Stations calculated from rectangular co-ordinates
614 | 409
1,484 | 1,300
170 | 189
643 | 131
1,342 | 1,561
506 | 450
19,391 | 20,952
272 t 287
28
537
114
143
1,192
830
22,144
314
518
810
49
239
1,415
576
23,559
378
814
536
32
82
1,093
888
24,652
461
567
669
70
325
Index cards—
1,637
613
26,289
403
Canadian Board on Geographical Names
39 | 56
6,403 j 7,052
252 j 351
102
11,683
442
83
8,766
655
61
6,664
247
54
8,884
306
Map Stock and Distribution
Maps issued to departments and public
45,724 | 40,733 | 43,741
73,981 j 92,456 j 97,274
$13,450 j $14,184 | $17,382
I
48,043
84,573
$18,995
59,290
129,901
$20,525
55,167
181,412
$20,441
Geographical Work for Other Department
S AND Pi
JBLIC
I
40 | 31 | 68
$1,024 | $4,400 | $1,361
1 1
60
$1,990
84
$2,687
86
$2,654
Letters
5,234 | 4,987
1
7,356
5,783
5,419
5,516 GG 56 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Maps Published during 1957
Maps Reproduced and Printed by the Geographic Division, Victoria
Map No.
Name
Scale
Remarks
1j
lex
If
Ifl
Ifls
3e
3g
3j
4d
92j
93m
82 L/SE
82 L/SW
92 H/NW
British Columbia
British Columbia land recording districts
West-Central British Columbia planimetric.-
West-Central British Columbia landforms .„_..
West-Central British Columbia, special, landforms in brown..
Peace River
Quesnel_.
North Thompson -
Fernie __
Pemberton (first edition)..-
Hazelton (second edition).
Sugar Lake (first edition)...
Vernon (second edition).—
Yale (first edition)
1 in. to 30 mi.
1 in. to 55 mi.
1 in. to 10 mi.
1 in. to 10 mi.
1 in. to 10 mi.
1 in. to 4 mi.
1 in. to 3 mi.
1 in. to 3 mi.
1 in. to 2 mi.
1:250,000
1:250,000
1 in. to 2 mi.
1 in. to 2 mi.
1 in. to 2 mi.
New edition.
New edition.
New edition.
New edition.
New edition.
Reprint, no revisions.
Reprint, status revision.
Reprint, no revisions.
Reprint with revisions.
Reprint, no revisions.
Six colours, contoured.
Six colours, contoured.
Six colours, contoured.
Six colours, contoured.
Provincial Government Topographic Manuscripts Reproduced and Printed
at 1:50,000 Scale by the Canadian Government, Ottawa
Map No.
Name
Map No.
Name
92B/13, E. &W.
Duncan (second edition).
92 K/6, E. & W.
Sonora Island (first edition).
92B/14, E. &W.
Galiano Island (first edition).
92 L/6, E. & W.
Alice Lake (second edition).
92C/10, E. &W.
Carmanah (second edition).
92 L/7, E. & W.
Nimpkish (second edition).
92C/14, E. &W.
Barkley Sound (second edition).
92 L/8, E. &W.
Adam River (second edition).
92 E/l, E.
Vargas Island (second edition).
93 K/1, E. & W.
Vanderhoof (second edition).
92E/8, E. &W.
Hesquiat (second edition).
93 K/2, E. & W.
Fraser Lake (second edition).
92E/10, E. &W.
Nootka (second edition).
93 L/10, E. &W.
Quick (first edition).
92 F/2, E. & W.
Alberni Inlet (second edition).
93L/11,E. &W.
Telkwa (first edition).
92 F/3, E. & W.
Effingham (second edition).
93 L/14, E. & W.
Smithers (first edition).
92 F/4, E. & W.
Tofino (second edition).
102 1/9, E.&W.
San Josef (second edition).
92 F/6, E. & W.
Great Central (second edition).
103P/9, E. &W.
Kispiox River (first edition).
92 F/7, E. & W.
Home Lake (second edition).
103 P/10, E.
Cranberry River (first edition).
92 F/9, E. & W.
Texada Island (first edition).
103 P/14, E.
White River (first edition).
92F/10, E. &W.
Comox (first edition).
103 P/15, E.&W.
Brown Bear Lake (first edition).
92F/11.E. &W.
Forbidden Plateau (second edition).
104 N/7, W.
Bell Lake (first edition).
92F/12, E. &W.
Buttle Lake (second edition).
104 N/11, W.
Surprise Lake (first edition).
92F/14, E. &W.
Oyster River (second edition).
104 N/12, E.&W.
Atlin (first edition).
92G/5, E. &W.
Sechelt (first edition).
104 N/13, E.&W.
Mount Minto (first edition).
92K/3, E. &W.
Quadra Island (first edition).
104 P/15, E.&W.
Lower Dease River (second edition).
92 K/4, E. & W.
Salmon River (first edition).
104 P/16, E.&W.
Lower Post (second edition).
92K/5, E. &W.
Say ward (first edition). surveys and mapping branch
Maps in Course of Reproduction
Maps Being Reproduced by the Geographic Division, Victoria
GG 57
Map No.
Name
Scale
Remarks
U
Ijr
lG
Igl
2c
3h
93c
82 E/NE
82 E/SE
82 F/SW
92 B/NW, SW
92 G/SE
92 I/SW
92 I/NW
British Columbia wall map.
British Columbia relief
East-Central British Columbia planimetric-
East-Central British Columbia landforms.-
Northerly Vancouver Island
Tete Jaune _ _.
Anahim Lake (second edition)
Upper Kettle River (first edition)
Grand Forks (first edition)
Trail (first edition)
Victoria (second edition).
Langley (first edition)
Lytton (first edition)
Ashcroft (first edition)
.1:1,000,000
1 in. to 30 mi.
1 in. to 10 mi.
1 in. to 10 mi.
1 in. to 4 mi.
1 in. to 3 mi.
1:250,000
1 in. to 2 mi.
1 in. to 2 mi.
1 in. to 2 mi.
1 in. to 2 mi.
1 in. to 2 mi.
1 in. to 2 mi.
1 in. to 2 mi.
In lithography.
Compilation complete.
Compilation complete.
In compilation.
Minor revisions.
Minor revisions.
Compilation complete.
In lithography,
in compilation.
In compilation.
Compilation complete.
In lithography.
Compilation complete.
Compilation complete.
Provincial Government Manuscripts Being Reproduced by the Canadian
Government, Ottawa, at 1:50,000 Scale
Map No.
Name
Map No.
Name
82K/11.W.
Trout Lake (first edition).
93 B/8, E. & W.
Soda Creek (first edition).
82K/12, E. &W.
Beaton (first edition).
102 1/8, E.
Cape Parkins (second edition).
92 B/5, E. & W.
Sooke (second edition).
103 1/2, E.&W.
Kitimat (first edition).
92 B/6, W.
Victoria (second edition).
103 1/7, E.&W.
Lakelse (second edition).
92B/11, W.
Sidney (second edition).
103 1/10, E. &W.
Terrace (second edition).
92B/12, E. &W.
Shawnigan (second edition).
104 A/2, W.
Kwinageese River (first edition).
92 C/9, E. & W.
San Juan (second edition).
104 A/5, E.
Bowser Lake (first edition).
92 E/14, E. & W.
Port Eliza (second edition).
104 A/6, E. &W.
Bell-Irving River (first edition).
92F/1.E. &W.
Nanaimo Lakes (second edition).
104 A/11, W.
Taft Creek (first edition).
92 G/7, E. & W.
Coquitlam (second edition).
104 A/12, E. &W.
Delta Peak (first edition).
92G/11, E. &W.
Squamish (first edition).
104 A/13, W.
Mount Alger (first edition).
92G/12, E. &W.
Sechelt Inlet (first edition).
104 B/16, E.&W.
Bob Quinn Lake (first edition).
92G/13, E. &W.
Jervis Inlet (first edition).
104 G/8, E.&W.
Refuge Lake (first edition).
92 G/14, E. & W.
Cheakamus River (first edition).
104 G/14, E. & W.
Telegraph Creek (first edition).
92H/1, E. &W.
Ashnola (first edition).
104 G/15, E.&W.
Buckley Lake (first edition).
92 H/2, E. & W.
Manning Park (first edition).
104 G/16, E.&W.
Klastline River (first edition).
92 J/15, E.&W.
Bralorne (first edition).
104H/12, W.
Kluea Lake (first edition).
92 J/16, E.&W.
Bridge River (first edition).
104H/13, W.
Ealue Lake (first edition).
92L/1.E. &W.
Schoen Lake (third edition).
104 J/2, W.
Classy Creek (first edition).
92 L/2, E. &W.
Woss Lake (second edition).
104 J/3, E. &W.
Tahltan River (first edition).
92L/3,E. &W.
Kyuquot (first edition).
104 J/4, E. & W.
Kennicott Lake (first edition).
92 L/4, E. & W.
Brooks Peninsula (first edition).
104 J/5, E.&W.
Ketchum Lake (first edition).
92L/11,E. &W.
Port McNeill (second edition) .
104 J/12, E. & W.
Dudidontu River (first edition) .
92 L/12, E. & W.
Quatsino (second edition).
104 J/13, E.&W.
Prairie Lake (first edition).
92L/13, E. &W.
Shushartie (second edition).
104K/16, E.
Nahlin River (first edition).
92 O/l, E.&W.
Yalakom River (first edition).
104 N/1, E. &W.
Nakina Lake (first edition).
92 0/8, E. &W.
Empire Valley (first edition).
104 N/2, E.&W.
Nakina (first edition).
92 0/16, E. &W.
Springhouse (first edition).
104 N/3, E.
Sloko River (first edition).
93B/1,E, &W.
Williams Lake (first edition).
104 N/5, E.&W.
Teresa Island (first edition). GG 58 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
AIR DIVISION
W. Hall, P.Eng., B.C.R.F.
During 1957 a major policy change was effected as regards air photography and
hence air operations.
The Forest Surveys Division was organized to complete its preliminary forest-
inventory programme, using 40-chains-to-l-inch scale photographs, during the fiscal year
1957/58 and at the same time to start the next phase of the programme involving revision
and maintenance. For this purpose, 20-chains-to-l-inch scale photographs were required
for more precise measurements and detailed interpretation.
To cater to this requirement, the Air Division equipped each aircraft with a modified
f 24 type camera, fitted with selected f 2.5 Aero Ektar lenses and standard Wratten 12
filters. The lenses are 7-inch focal length; hence prints close to the desired 20-chains-to-
l-inch scale can be obtained from our normal flying height of 19,000 feet above ground.
One aircraft was allotted exclusively to this 20-chain programme, while the other
was detailed to obtain standard wide-angle 40-chains-to-l-inch photography for mapping
in the area to the north of Smithers, and to obtain 20-chains-to-l-inch photography as an
alternate as weather permitted.
As a result of this allocation of aircraft, 7,040 square miles of new block photography and 3,400 square miles of revision photography at a 40-chain scale was obtained,
bringing the total area covered by British Columbia Government photographs up to
265,000 square miles. In addition, 7,580 square miles of 20-chains-to-l-inch photography for forest inventory was obtained. (See Indexes 15 to 18, contained in pocket
inside back cover.)
It is interesting to note that only 66 per cent, or 5,000 square miles, of the total area
covered by 20-chain photography was of actual productive forest land. The reason for
this small percentage is that in areas with broken topography, such as in the Vancouver
and Nelson Forest Districts, much of the productive forest land is found in long narrow
valleys separated by high barren ridges. In order to cover all these separated valleys, as
well as the many small isolations of forest land, it was necessary to, in effect, " block "
fly the entire area. Hence a large portion of the flying and photography was over barren
ground.
The efficiency of this photography could be greatly improved if these less important
narrow belts of forest land could be eliminated and photography concentrated over the
major valleys.
It is evident from this year's experience that even with the two Anson aircraft
operating full time on this project, some expedients will be necessary in order to meet the
full requirements of the forest surveys each year, and to meet the full demand for photography from various Government departments it will be necessary to operate a third
photographic aircraft or, alternatively, to obtain aircraft capable of better performance.
In the office the compilation of 40-chains-to-l-inch interim maps continued to
receive the full attention of the mapping personnel. As a result, some 26,520 square
miles of new mapping were produced during the year and 6,300 square miles of maps
were recompiled or revised. This brought the total area mapped up to 194,000 square
miles. (See Index 5.)
In addition to this, the 20-chains-to-l-inch photographs were plotted and principal-
point lay-downs supplied to Forest Surveys. These lay-downs were controlled using
points selected from the original 40-chains-to-l-inch maps, so the two series will be in
full sympathy, one with the other.
Production of prints from the Processing Laboratory totalled 158,723 of all types.
Out of this total, 152,556 prints were of the standard 10- by 10-inch size, representing
an increase of 14,336 over 1956. This production is the full capacity of our existing
facilities. In order to cope with the increased requirements of some 40,000 prints a year SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
GG 59
caused by the 20-chains-to-l-inch forest-inventory photographs, it will be necessary to
have one more enlarger and improved developing and washing facilities. This problem is
in hand, and it is hoped to have the Processing Laboratory reorganized in time for the
1958 season photography.
The Machine-shop, besides its normal maintenance work, is presently engaged in the
design and construction of a new fixed-focus enlarger incorporating the LogEtron automatic dodger. This electronic scanning device will, it is hoped, do away with the necessity
of manual dodging and permit the use of less skilled personnel for its operation.
For details of the various operations, reference should be made to the accompanying
appendices.
Production Record, 1957, Air Photo Processing Laboratory
1946-55
1956
1957
Grand Total
Processing completed—
Air films (averaging 117 exposures) ..__
Air films (obliques averaging 40 exposures)
Mountain station films (6 exposures each)
Printing completed—
Standard prints (5 by 5 inches enlarged to 9 by 9 inches)..
Contact prints (5 by 5 inches)— _
Contact prints (large to 20 by 24 inches)
Enlargements (various sizes to 30 by 30 inches).
Mountain station enlargements (11 by 14 inches)..
Lantern-slides (2 by 2 inches).
Autopositive films (various sizes to 30 by 40 inches)..
Miscellaneous photographs, copies, and Kelsh plates..
Requisitions completed
1,855
33
2,510
942,098
42,829
1,271
11,107
13,627
346
4,123
1,102
11,914
111
10
387
137,190
731
384
1,524
2,926
Nil
980
538
2,526
148
6
278
152,556
1,172
463
2,018
1,561
22
593
338
2,270
2,114
49
3,175
1,231,844
44,732
2,118
14,649
18,114
368
5,696
1,978
16,710 GG 60
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
Orders for Standard Prints (9 by 9 Inches) from
British Columbia Negatives, 1957
Reprints
Loans
Requisitions
Number
Requisitions
Number
Private—
603
110
97
64
46
23
52
123
192
3,105
7,888
8,276
29,364
1,214
228
927
5,089
6,752
253
38
29
16
32
4
104
87
149
3,581
559
455
1,963
839
73
506
Commercial air survey
1,379
1,704
Totals
1,310 62,843
712 | 11,059
Federal Government agencies—■
12
8
11
11
2
37
4,078
155
2,432
190
61
719
6
6
3
2 -
26
31
13
134
50
55
595
349
Totals
81 7,635
74 1,196
Provincial Government—
125
146
24
85
8
10
53
68
73
32
51
70
25
32
24
44
18
3
19
6,389
12,505
5,179
2,318
23
21
1,128
18,753
28,061
826
1,015
3,929
178
1,003
330
154
111
77
78
350
10
115
3
71
192
4
71
70
49
9
74
77
119
172
9
6
8,417
Land Inspection Division _ _
155
1,017
9
1,269
2,118
47
1,062
907
834
102
6,790
1,367
810
1,253
181
45
Totals _ .
910 82,078
7.301 I 157.556
1,401 26,383
2,187
38,638 SURVEYS AND MAPPING BRANCH
1957 Air Operations Cost Summary by Projects
GG 61
Accomplishment
as
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u :__
to
il
O M
oB
Uft
._:
a
k.
HI
IA o
osi
Ufl,
■
-i _n
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15 &
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32
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-si
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HKa.
A. Basic vertical cover (approximately 40 chains
to the inch) —
1. New cover (interim mapping) —
5,120
Hr. Min.
42 05
10 00
1,312
378
$4,780.83
1,135.95
$3,429.70
988.13
$8,210.53
1,920
2,124.08
7,040
$1.46
52 05
1,690
$6.12
$5,916.78
$4,417.83
$10,334.61
Average cost (approximate)
16 15
3. Revision (Taxation Assessment), E. & N.
3,400
$1.11
743
$5.10
$1,845.90
$1,942.27
$3,788.17
Average cost (approximate) _
9 40
14 25
0 40
C. Triangulation control identification (interim
mapping) —
45
65
1
206
439
10
$1,098.08
1,637.66
75.72
$538.50
1,147.59
26.14
$1,636.58
E. & N. Land Grant
2,785.25
101.86
111
$40.75
24 45
655
$6.91
$2,811.46| $1,712.23
$4,523.69
Average cost (approximate)
D. Forest Inventory projects (approximately 20
chains to the inch)—
1. New cover (Forest Surveys)—
3,175
200
50 05
4 20
53 25
27 40
4 35
15 25
13 40
2,972
218
2,830
1,324
141
612
300
$5,689.18
492.24
6,067.84
3,142.77
520.64
1,751.25
1,552.45
$7,769.12
569.88
7,397.91
3,461.07
368.58
1,599.84
784.24
$13,458.30
1,062.12
1,650
1,392
13,465.75
6,603.84
889.22
76
640
3,351.09
2,336 69
450
7,583
$5.48
169 10
8,397
$4.90
$19,216.37[$21,950.64
$41,167.01
2. Improvement flying __ —
E. Forest Engineering projects—
1 40
1 00
5 50
39
20
100
32
6
34
$189.31
113.59
662.63
$101.95
52.28
261.41
$291.26
165 87
72
$19.18
8 30
159
$8.69
$965.53
$415.641 $1,381.17
1 -----
Average cost (approximate) __
F. Multiplex mapping projects—
1. New cover—
Water Rights Branch—
. 36
186
147
30
14
2
3
18
4 15
7 35
7 55
3 35
6 30
4 00
0 45
1 05
112
131
237
52
65
10
10
23
$482.77
861.43
899.29
407.04
738.35
454.38
85.19
123.05
$292.76
342.41
619.50
135.93
169.90
26.14
26.14
60.12
$775 53
1,203.84
1,518.79
542 97
Regional Planning — Miworth-Prince
Industrial Regional Development—Prince
Land Settlement Board—Prince George
480 52
Map amendment—Okanagan River
183.17
436
$13.12
35 40
640
$8.94
$4,051.50
$1,672.90
$5,724.40
Average cost (approximate)
G. Soecial projects—
Water Rights Branch—
36
80
60
592
16
80
2 00
1 10
2 20
18 55
0 25
1 55
5 00
2 00
3 25
50
35
130
437
16
55
100
111
95
$227.19
132.52
265.05
2,148.83
47.33
217.72
567.98
227.19
388.11
$130.71
91.49
339.83
1,142.37
52.28
143.78
261.41
290.16
248.34
$357 90
224 01
Interim mapping—Power-line, Vernon-Kam-
604.88
3,291.20
99.61
361 50
Boundary Commission—British Columbia-Yu-
100
829 39
Pacific Biological Station—Eel-grass, Bound-
20
55
517.35
636.45
Legal Surveys Division — Merritt-Princeton
Highway GG 62 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
1957 Air Operations Cost Summary by Projects—Continued
Accomplishment
<
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° 1
Is
zw
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M
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3 ~-m
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32
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hfco,
G. Special projects—Continued
Taxation Assessment — Spallumcheen Munici-
95
2
Hr.
3
1
Min.
10
00
190
3
$359.71
113.59
$496.68
7.84
$856.39
121.43
Totals .
197
$9.17
939
$6.49
41
20
1,226
$6.44
$4,695.22
$3,204.89
$7,900.11
H. Miscellaneous projects—
Internal—
18
6
22
2
2
0
0
1
8
7
0
0
0
0
20
10
40
20
05
45
35
00
10
00
15
45
40
30
$2,082.56
700.49
2,574.80
265.05
263.65
85.19
$2,082.56
700.49
2,574.80
265.05
Forest Research—
263.65
85.19
Travel Bureau—
66.26
113.59
66.26
113.59
927.69
795.16
28.39
85.19
75.72
56.79
927.69
Water Rights Branch—Prince George recon-
795.16
28.39
85.19
Greater Victoria Water Board—Victoria ob-
75.72
Public Works Department—Victoria obliques.-.
-
56.79
Tnfnls
1 1
71
15 I
$8,093.53
$8,093.53
Grand totals
18,220
1,447
111
419
00
13,510
$47,596.29|$35,316.40|$82,912.69 WATER RIGHTS BRANCH Note 3
THE WATER RIGHTS BRANCH
As the title of the Water Rights Branch suggests, the people and industries of British
Columbia have a " right " to the " use " of water in this Province. At first reflection, the right
to use water might be considered as basic as the right to use air or to admire the scenery. And
so it is, but because it is a commodity which everyone must have, it becomes necessary for
government to control its use or the " haves " would be making a great deal of money selling it
to the " have nots." The Water Rights Branch is the agency of the Provincial Government
which administers the control of the use of water. The Branch administers the " Water Act,"
which has been developed by legislation into an excellent administrative vehicle, used as a model
in the initiation of other similar Acts in other countries.
The main principles of the "Water Act" are:—
(1) The property in and the right to the use and flow of all water at any time in any
stream in the Province are for all purposes vested in the Crown in the right of
the Province.
(2) Licence-holders have a right to the use of water under the terms and conditions
of the licence.
(3) A licence-holder's priority of right is generally based upon the date his application
was recorded by a Water Recorder. Earlier licences have priority over licences
issued later.
(4) Retention of a water licence is dependent upon the beneficial use of the water,
payment of the rentals, and observance of the regulations of the " Water Act."
No one can adopt a " dog in the manger " attitude to this Province's water.
(5) Every licence and permit that is made appurtenant to any land, mine, or undertaking shall pass with any conveyance or other disposition thereof. Ownerships
of licences are therefore automatically transferred with their appurtenant land,
mine, or undertaking.
The administration of the " Water Act " is carried out by the Comptroller of Water Rights.
He and his staff are located at a headquarters office in Victoria, and at district offices in Victoria,
Kamloops, Kelowna, and Nelson.
There is much correspondence, field investigation, and record-keeping of an exacting nature
associated with this administration because all details of every application must be carefully
reviewed before licences are issued. The filing and recording of all the mass of data associated
with water use is, in itself, an assignment of no small magnitude.
Much of the vast industrial expansion presently occurring in this Province is associated
with the use of British Columbia water, and the Government and its Civil Service are therefore
called upon to assist and direct this expansion in the public interest.
The Water Rights Branch therefore has a technical function as well as an administrative
one and is called upon to carry out many investigations and studies of a scientific nature. The
fact that almost every executive in the Water Rights Branch is a professional engineer is indicative of the technical nature of the work. These executives of the Branch take active part on a
number of important boards and committees dealing with the disposition of the Province's
water resources.
The Comptroller of Water Rights has a technical staff consisting of a Deputy Comptroller
and Chief, Operations Division; Chief, Hydraulic Investigations Division; Branch Solicitor;
District Engineers; Senior Hydraulic Engineers; Project Engineer; and a number of hydraulic
engineers, technicians, and draughtsmen. This staff carries out many assignments in the irrigation, domestic water-supply, hydro-electric, dyking and drainage, and other fields. WATER RIGHTS BRANCH GG 65
WATER RIGHTS BRANCH
A. F. Paget, P.Eng., Comptroller
The year 1957 witnessed a new high point in Branch activities. The man-power of
the organization was constantly being deployed and redeployed in an effort to cope with
the now ever-increasing flood of work consequent to the population and industrial growth
of the Province. The demands on the water-supply in some areas appear to have used up
all the available local resources, and studies are now being made to find other economical
sources to augment local deficiencies. Much work went forward on studies of the
Provincial hydro-electric power potential, which is now estimated to be not less than
40,000,000 horse-power (estimated potential in 1952, 10,000,000 horse-power).
The Comptroller and senior Branch officers served on many boards and committees
of international, national, provincial, and local significance dealing with water resources
and hydrology. The snow-survey programme was continued and slightly expanded, and
produced excellent advance information on summer flows. The inspection programme on
dams and hydraulic structures in the interest of public safety was carried out as well
as possible with the limited staff available to the District Engineer at Kamloops and
at Kelowna, in whose territories most of these structures are located.
Much work was required with improvement districts, both in respect of administration and financing, and investigation of existing works toward rehabilitation, or the
feasibility of providing new installations.
Revenue for the year 1957 received from fees and rentals, $1,152,371, exceeded
last year's amount by about 10 per cent.
A brief resume of the work of the staff prepared by the individuals concerned shows
more exactly the ramifications and magnitude of the problems that were encountered.
Thanks for the co-operation and help of other Government departments must be
expressed, especially that furnished by the Department of Mines in geological appreciations of major dam-sites now under study by Branch engineers.
IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS
There are 219 improvement districts incorporated under the "Water Act." The
main purposes for which improvement districts are incorporated are irrigation, waterworks, fire protection, garbage collection, sewage-disposal, street-lighting, and the granting of financial aid to hospitals.
Improvement districts incorporated this year are North Saanich Fire Protection
District, Western Latoria Road Waterworks District, Westbank Waterworks District,
Skeena Hospital Improvement District No. 17, loco Waterworks District, South Peace
Hospital Improvement District No. 18, Fort Nelson Improvement District, Bilston Creek
Improvement District, Mount Baker Trail Land Protection District, Ponderose Heights
Waterworks District, Cherry Creek Waterworks District, Spences Bridge Waterworks
District, Upper Terrace Waterworks District, Albion Dyking District, Dragon Lake Improvement District, Chetwynd Waterworks District, and Bow Horn Bay Fire Protection
District.
Pursuant to section 58 of the "Water Act," a sum of $754,815 was advanced to
improvement districts by the Province of British Columbia to provide fire protection,
financial aid to hospitals, and street-lighting, and will be collected by the Province by way
of taxes over a period of time from one to twenty years, depending on the capability of
the area to repay.
Pursuant to the " Improvement Districts Assistance Loan Act," chapter 38 of the
Statutes of British Columbia, 1945, and amendments thereto, in 1957 the Province of
British Columbia guaranteed debentures of improvement districts (with respect to both
principal and interest) in the principal amount of $2,361,000, as hereinafter set out, after GG 66
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
WATER RIGHTS BRANCH - REVENUE AND EXPENSES
Fiscal Years 1335-1357
AND
DISTRIBUTION DIAGRAM For Fiscal Year I95S-5T
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FISCAL YEARS
(Ending March 31st)
Plate 1. WATER RIGHTS BRANCH GG 67
this Branch recommended the feasibility of the projects and, further, that the areas could
liquidate the debentures as they become due.
Waterworks, irrigation, and dyking districts $1,126,000
Hospital improvement districts 1,235,000
Total $2,361,000
INTERNATIONAL WATERS
For background information and descriptions concerning rivers in British Columbia
falling within the category of international streams, the reader is referred to the previous
issues of the Annual Report, particularly those of the last three years.
GENERAL
Early in 1957, as a result of agreement reached between the Governments of Canada
and the United States, a start was made to discuss at the diplomatic level the problems
associated with international rivers. Preliminary exploratory talks between the representatives of the two countries were held in Ottawa and in Washington, D.C.
Although it was not possible for the Province to participate directly in the talks, a
close contact was established in an advisory capacity with the Canadian team to provide
every possible assistance and to ensure that the Provincial view-point would receive
adequate consideration.
PLANNING ACTIVITIES
As pointed out in previous Annual Reports, there are many agencies and organizations involved in the planning activities associated with the potential development of the
Columbia River. Several engineering committees and study groups, some of which are
international, have been formed to investigate various aspects. As well as these, individual organizations are also carrying out studies and preparing reports. The progress
during the past year of those of particular significance to the Water Rights Branch, inasmuch as they involve staff participation, are summarized briefly.
Provincial Government Studies
As reported in the last Annual Report, the Provincial Government has instigated an
engineering and economic review of the hydro-electric power situation in the southern
part of the Province. The studies are being carried out mainly through a firm of consulting engineers under the direction of the Comptroller of Water Rights.
The resources of the Columbia basin in Canada are receiving particular attention in
these studies to determine from a Province-wide point of view the potentialities of the
various alternative methods of development, taking Provincial power requirements into
consideration and the integration of Columbia projects with existing power systems and
other power resources within the Province. The important elements of timing, transmission requirements, operation, and economics of individual projects as they fit into the
over-all development are being considered. It might be expected, with the different terms
of reference and other factors being considered from an over-all provincial viewpoint, that
the studies may eventually indicate a plan or elements of a plan of development which is
somewhat different than what has previously been proposed by other agencies.
Preliminary designs, cost estimates, and construction schedules are being worked
out for all sites together with power studies to allow comparisons between the various
alternative methods of development. Load estimates for the various load centres are
being prepared and transmission requirements are being studied. Available hydro
resources elsewhere in the Province are being considered.
Some field work was carried out during the year, mainly on the geological and
transmission aspects of the investigation. This involved sample surveys of alternative GG 68 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
transmission-line routes and some sub-surface exploration by drilling at sites in the
Columbia basin.
Considerable assistance has been obtained from other departments of Government,
most noteworthy of which are the Department of Mines, which has provided advice and
carried out geological studies, and the Bureau of Economics and Statistics, which has
obtained data and directed the load-estimating and power-market studies.
International Columbia River Engineering Committee
As described in previous Annual Reports, this Committee was formed as a field
agency of the International Joint Commission to conduct studies and investigations of the
water resources of the Columbia basin and to determine what might be an ultimate plan
of development of these resources from an international point of view. The Committee
is composed of field representatives of the responsible federal departments of both countries together with the Deputy Minister of Lands representing the Province of British
Columbia. The Committee reports to a board composed of senior federal officials from
both countries who in turn report to the International Joint Commission.
It was mentioned in the last Annual Report that the efforts of the Committee in the
past had been directed mainly toward collecting the necessary basic data required for
planning purposes. This phase has been mainly completed as far as the Committee is
concerned, and work during 1957 was concentrated in carrying out the engineering and
economic studies to determine alternative plans of development based on the assumption
that all elements would be part of an international system with fully integrated operation.
Preliminary design and costing of each project included in the alternative plans are
under way together with detailed power studies. It is interesting to note that the power
studies, which involve long and complex computations, are being carried out using an
electronic computing-machine located at Portland, Ore.
It was anticipated that an over-all report setting forth the international plans of
development of the whole Columbia basin would be completed by the summer of 1958
and would be followed by the various appendices covering the details of projects located
in each of the sub-basins. However, toward the end of the year it became necessary to
carry out studies of a further alternative plan of development, and the over-all report is
now scheduled for completion at the beginning of 1959. WATER RIGHTS BRANCH
GG 69
OPERATIONS DIVISION
V. Raudsepp, P.Eng., Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights
and Chief, Operations Division
The Operations Division performs the administrative duties arising from the " Water
Act" and the regulations issued under that Act, and provides engineering advice to the
improvement districts, the water-users' communities, and the individual water licensees.
The Division comprises the following:—
(1) The offices of the five District Engineers at Nelson, Kelowna, Kamloops,
Victoria, and Prince George. The position of the District Engineer at
Prince George was approved this year, and the office will be in operation
early next year.
(2) General Office supervised by Chief Clerk.
(3) Administrative Draughting Office under Chief Draughtsman.
(4) A section under a Senior Hydraulic Engineer to supervise and advise the
improvement districts in engineering matters.
The staff of the Operations Division in 1957 has been continuously and heavily
taxed to full capacity. Although in general the Division successfully coped with the
various problems, this was achieved at the cost of having to leave some important activities in abeyance, such as determination of engineering and financial requirements regarding the replacements of existing irrigation and waterworks systems of the improvement
districts.
The following tables, which provide statistical information, show an increase in some
phases in our work. In addition, the problems of water administration continue to
become more complex as a result of urbanization and industrialization of the Province.
During the year- nine new community waterworks projects and three schemes for
rehabilitation of the existing systems were investigated and are now under construction
or will be constructed next year by the improvement districts.
Changes in staff of the Operations Division in 1957 were extensive. Nine resignations, amounting to 25 per cent of the total establishment, were sustained. These changes
occurred in the following categories: Draughtsmen, 2; clerical-secretarial, 6; engineers,
1. There was a complete change of staff at the Nelson District office.
General Office
1953
1954
1955
775
584
635
30
17
48
22
16
30
42
33
27
422
490
544
766
965
618
292
327
205
137
137
108
1,087
1,041
875
1956
1957
Applications for licences
Applications for apportionments
Applications' for change of appurtenancy..
Applications for change of works —
Applications for extension of time
Change of ownership, address, etc
Cancellations and abandonments
Right-of-way over Crown lands
Total licences issued
747
25
11
17
632
794
111
93
832
687
32
16
45
590
1,902
211
125
891
New water-licence indexes, both alphabetical and numerical, were completed during
the year. gg 70 department of lands and forests
Draughting Office
Water applications cleared and plotted on maps 687
Conditional-licence plats compiled and traced 570
Final-licence plats compiled and traced 364
New water-rights maps compiled and traced 8
Water-rights maps revised or renewed 18
Reference maps renewed 22
Water clearances (cancellations, change of ownership, etc.)... 2,113
Land clearances (purchases, Crown grants, leases, timber
sales, etc.) 5,007
New improvement district plans compiled and traced 15
Improvement districts (amended) 19
During the year many inquiries by the public and other departments were taken
care of. The usual requests for maps and other information by our District Engineers
were also attended to during the year.
Considerable time was spent during the year checking petitions and drawing up legal
descriptions for improvement districts.
IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ENGINEERING SECTION
General
The purposes for which this Section was set up were outlined in the 1956 Annual
Report of this Branch.
The Section has continued with the work initiated last year, and a list of the investigations of new projects carried out and reports submitted will be found under the report
of the Hydraulic Investigations Division.
In several instances our reports have already been followed up by the communities
concerned, and of these, Naramata, in the Okanagan area, and Eagle Heights District,
near Duncan, have started construction work on their projects.
A questionnaire form was sent out to the improvement districts formed for irrigation
purposes during the year and results compiled as a report showing the financial state and
the condition of their water installations. The report indicates that in the neighbourhood
of $4,500,000 is required in the way of financing for immediate replacements and rehabilitation of expended works of the established irrigation districts in the Province.
Naramata Irrigation District Rehabilitation
The preliminary report on the rehabilitation of the irrigation and domestic water-
supply system of the Naramata Irrigation District was completed early in the year. The
total estimated cost of the design contained in the report was $323,000, which could be
supported by water charges amounting to $20 per acre per annum for irrigation and $54
per connection per annum for domestic service. The area capable of being served is 915
acres, presently irrigated, plus an expansion possibility of some 75 acres.
The design was revised at the request of the Trustees, to show the effect of retaining
portions of the existing system considered to have five to ten years of remaining life. The
revised estimate was $271,000.
Separate reports were prepared on the cost of chlorinating the water-supply and on
screening and settling provisions for the system.
The district has engaged its own engineer to draw up final detailed plans and specifications and has now let a contract for construction.
o WATER RIGHTS BRANCH GG 71
Cuisson Creek Proposed Irrigation Project
Data on the proposed irrigation project on Cuisson Creek near Alexandria was
revised. On the basis of subsequent stream-flow data obtained and on a further reconnaissance made in conjunction with the " Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Act," the estimate
of the area that could be successfully irrigated from Cuisson Creek has been reduced from
2,680 to 1,000 acres. Since the reduced estimate is based on a record of flows obtained
over a comparatively wet cycle of years, 1947 to 1955, the development of even this
area would be hazardous and the cost of development would make the project uneconomical under existing conditions.
Port Hardy Waterworks
A report was prepared covering the design and cost estimate for a water-supply
system to supply the fifty-two residences and other installations of the community of Port
Hardy, on the northerly part of Vancouver Island. The proposed supply was by pumping
through an infiltration gallery from a small surface stream near the community to a
6,000-gallon storage-tank, from which the distribution system would be supplied by
gravity. The water is characterized by a red coloration due to its high iron content and
a low pH value, both of which are objectionable. Because of economic considerations,
however, chlorination to safeguard the bacteriological quality was the only treatment
recommended.
Mamquam Waterworks District
A preliminary design and cost estimate was prepared for the Mamquam Waterworks
District, near Squamish. The design assumed a bulk supply under sufficient pressure from
the works of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway Company serving the railway yards and
Village of Squamish from Stawamus River. The distribution system would be required
to serve seventy-eight connections initially and was designed for 140 connections. The
estimate of capital cost required was $27,766, which could be supported by annual
charges of $45 per connection for ordinary domestic service.
Eagle Heights Waterworks District
A system to supply sixty residential connections by pumping from a drilled well
beside the Cowichan River was designed for the Eagle Heights community, near Duncan.
The cost was estimated at $23,048.
This scheme was considered marginal only, financially, and would depend on supplementary income obtained from the owners of land intending to subdivide in order to
be successful. The owners have met their financial requirements, and they have now
formed a district, engaged their own engineer, and construction is now in progress.
Meadowbrook Waterworks District
A waterworks system to serve the Meadowbrook Waterworks District, near Kimberley, was designed to serve the existing seventy-two residences with an expansion
potential of 100 per cent. The cost was estimated at $50,562, which could be supported
by water charges amounting to $48 per annum for ordinary household services.
The supply would be by pumping from an infiltration gallery placed in the bed of
Kimberley Creek to a 20,000-imperial-gallon wood-stave tank, thence by gravity to the
district's distribution system.
Westside Improvement District
The design of a pipe distribution system submitted last year to the Westside Improvement District was revised, on the request of the Trustees, to serve 70 acres under sprinkler,
the remaining 40 of the 110 acres presently irrigated remaining under ditches. GG 72 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
This district is presently negotiating with the old Columbia Valley Irrigated Fruit-
lands Company for acquisition of its assets.
VICTORIA DISTRICT OFFICE
C. Errington, P.Eng., District Engineer
The Victoria District office administers the "Water Act" in an area of approximately 50,000 square miles and includes the relatively thickly populated and rapidly
developing Lower Fraser Valley, the Sechelt Peninsula, and Vancouver Island, and
extends from Vancouver north-westerly up the coast for some 350 miles.
Work Carried Out during the Year
During the period from November 1st, 1956, to October 31st, 1957, some fifty
special studies, investigations, and reports were made; this included attending to twenty-
seven disputes or inquiries of a contentious nature—a great majority of these were
amicably settled. On three occasions, work was done under the "Ditches and Watercourses Act." Six meetings in connection with improvement districts were attended.
There were 280 applications received. Of these, 250 were reported on and twelve
recommended to be refused. There were 188 final-licence reports made. Some 228
extensions of time and eighteen amendments to the water licences were made during the
period. Seventy-one licences were abandoned or cancelled. There are 4,187 licences
in existence in the Victoria District; of this number, 1,586 are conditional and 2,601 have
been finalized.
KELOWNA DISTRICT OFFICE
R. G. Harris, P.Eng., District Engineer
The Kelowna office, administering an area of approximately 15,000 square miles,
comprises the Kettle River, Similkameen, and Okanagan drainage-basins, and in addition
the Shuswap River drainage-basin from Sicamous to its source and that part of the
Columbia River drainage-basin from Boat Encampment, the northerly limit of the
Columbia River, to a point about 15 miles south of Arrowhead on the Upper Arrow Lake.
General
Sixty-four group meetings were held, of which fifty-two were with existing improvement districts or proposed districts.
A total of thirty-seven dam inspections were made. Several of these inspections
were on one or two dams requiring extensive repairs or reconstruction, notably Penticton
Creek Dam No. I and Chain Lake Dam. Three dams were deemed to be a hazard and
were condemned.
During the last few years the routine work has increased greatly. In addition, more
engineering investigations are being carried out. Consequently, it is becoming more
difficult to keep up with the work with the present staff, in particular the routine inspections of dams.
Summary of Year's Routine Work
The following is a summary of the routine work carried out by the Kelowna office
for the period from November 1st, 1956, to October 31st, 1957:—■
Applications received 103
Applications inspected 84
Final-licence reports 73
Amendments to water licences * 24
Dam inspections 35
Proposed dam-sites inspected 2
Miscellaneous investigations and surveys 41 WATER RIGHTS BRANCH GG 73
Major Engineering Investigations
Irrigation and Domestic Water-supply, City of Armstrong and
Municipality of Spallumcheen
Storage possibilities at the headwaters of Fortune Creek to augment the water-supply
for the City of Armstrong and the Municipality of Spallumcheen were investigated. Of
three small lakes considered for storage, two were investigated, and it was estimated that
270 acre-feet could be stored. This estimate was based on a ground and air study of the
sites and computations of the watershed run-off.
Woods Lake Water Company Pipe-line
A pipe-line approximately 1,000 feet in length was designed as a replacement for
a wooden flume.
Westbank Irrigation District Rehabilitation
During the summer of 1955 the area was air-photographed and the necessary control
surveys made. Subsequently, base maps at a scale of 500 feet to 1 inch were prepared.
A meeting of the Reclamation Committee was held in November, 1955. The purpose of
this meeting was to provide the basic data—water duties, type of system, etc.—for
rehabilitating the system.
A tentative design and approximate estimate of cost of an all-pressure system for
sprinkler irrigation has now been prepared; however, a more detailed design and cost is
to be prepared this winter. The district proposes to replace part of its works in 1958.
Westbank Waterworks District Rehabilitation
This district, which was formerly the Westbank Co-operative Water Users, was
incorporated as an improvement district in January, 1957. It is situated within the
Westbank Irrigation District.
A plan snowing the existing works has now been prepared, and it is proposed to
design a replacement system this winter. The district's only source of supply is Westbank
Spring. A new intake, consisting of a system of tile drains, has now been constructed.
Larkin Waterworks District
Following reports of leakage in the main line and lack of water at the higher
elevations of the district, an inspection was made of the system. A composite map of
the district has now been prepared and a survey will be made in 1958, with the view of
recommending improvements to the system.
Christina Waterworks District Rehabilitation
This district is situated at the south end of Christina Lake, about 15 miles east of
Grand Forks. The present system is now giving very poor service, particularly during
the winter, when the pipes freeze. Several meetings have been held over the past three
years. In addition, a survey was made by this office in 1956, and in 1957 three alternative
designs were prepared.
Crozier Waterworks District Rehabilitation
This district is comparatively small, only seven users being served at the present
time. The source of supply is Crozier Springs. The district is now replacing its system
with plastic pipe.
KAMLOOPS DISTRICT OFFICE
H. D. DeBeck, P.Eng., District Engineer
The Kamloops office is charged with the administration of the "Water Act"
throughout an area of approximately 75,000 square miles of Central British Columbia, GG 74 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
comprising the drainage-basin of the Fraser River and its tributaries from Spuzzum
up-stream, with the exception of the watersheds of the Shuswap River and the Stuart and
Nechako Rivers above their confluence. There are eight water districts in this area.
Although the City of Kamloops is not at the geographical centre of this area, it is near the
centre of the Dry Belt, where the water use is greatest and the supply most critical. In
July, 1957, the Kamloops District office was moved to accommodation provided in the
new Government Office Building at Kamloops.
Storage Dams
Much of the water used for irrigation is taken from small streams in which the supply
is very limited except during the spring freshet. To provide adequate water-supply during
the summer when it is most needed, many users have constructed storage dams to retain
the spring-freshet water for later use. Since such dams can impose a serious hazard to
life and property down-stream, the construction of new dams and the maintenance of
existing dams is supervised by the Water Rights Branch in the public interest.
During the year an index of storage dams was completed, listing 431 storage dams
under licence in the district. On the basis of this index, it is hoped to set up a programme
of regular inspections, with a frequency of inspection suited to the conditions at each
dam. The magnitude of such a task will be apparent when it is realized that most of the
dams are at high altitudes and many can still only be reached on foot or on horseback.
The only dam failure reported during the year was that of a small abandoned dam on
Fifty-seven Mile Creek near Clinton. Although the dam had been considered one which
imposed a minimum hazard, considerable damage was done to farm land down-stream.
Land Registry Office Searches
The Kamloops District office has been made responsible for searching the title to the
land appurtenant to any water licences within the Kamloops Land Registration District.
This has involved a considerable amount of work, since most licences require a title
search as a result of subdivision of the appurtenant land. In addition to searches for
licences within the Kamloops District office, nearly fifty searches were carried out during
the year for licences within the jurisdiction of other district offices.
Summary of Work
The following is a summary of the work carried out by the Kamloops office for the
period from November 1st, 1956, to October 31st, 1957:-—■
New applications investigated and reported on 91
Conditional licences inspected 71
Final-licence surveys made 39
Miscellaneous surveys and investigations 11
Dam inspections 52
Proposed dam-sites inspected 4
Complaints investigated 24
Well-logs collected of new test-wells 10
Meetings with improvement districts 9
Special Studies
Savona Community Domestic Water-supply
Following a request from a committee organizing an improvement district at Savona
for a feasibility survey and report on their contemplated waterworks system, a field
investigation was carried out in July, and subsequently plans, drawings, and system design
studies were carried out intermittently and completed at the end of September. WATER RIGHTS BRANCH GG 75
The design submitted proposes a pumped domestic water-supply from Kamloops
Lake by means of two alternative systems of supply, the first being a minimum system to
serve ninety-two buildings, and the second being a system to serve the area in the vicinity
of the Canadian Pacific Railway station only, containing seventy-five buildings. All
designs and plans have been completed and the preparation of cost estimates is nearing
completion.
Domestic Water-supply for the Proposed Hillcrest Waterworks District
The proposed Hillcrest Waterworks District comprises a subdivision located on the
Cariboo Highway about a mile south of 100 Mile House, containing at present ten houses
and seven business premises. A survey was made of the route of a proposed pipe-line to
provide a domestic water-supply from two springs, and a report on the feasibility of the
proposal will be prepared early in 1958.
Tranquille Lagoon
In June an investigation was made of the sewage lagoon constructed for the
Tranquille Sanatorium on the north bank of Kamloops Lake. The dyke enclosing the
lagoon was examined to ensure stability, durability, and impermeability. Periodic inspections are being maintained to ensure same.
NELSON DISTRICT OFFICE
R. Pollard, P.Eng., District Engineer (January to October), and
J. P. Riley, P.Eng., District Engineer
The Nelson office administers Water Rights Branch matters over some 25,000 square
miles in the south-eastern part of British Columbia, comprising the Kootenay Land
District, excepting Revelstoke.
A large portion of the population within the Nelson District is situated in the West
Kootenay area, and it is from this region that the vast majority of the water licences and
other problems pertaining to this office originate.
During the year there was a complete change of staff at the Nelson office. On
October 31st, R. Pollard, former District Engineer at Nelson, retired after thirty-one
continuous years with the Water Rights Branch. Except for a short period in Victoria,
all of this time was spent at the Nelson office. In January, S. Jackson, who had been
Assistant District Engineer at Nelson for a period of five years, was transferred to
Victoria. His position in Nelson is now occupied by D. E. Smuin. The office secretary,
Mrs. F. M. Davis, came to the Branch in August.
Summary of Year's Work
Following is a tabulation of work carried out by the staff of the Nelson office for the
period from November 1st, 1956, to October 31st, 1957:—
New applications investigated 129
Final-licence surveys 87
Flooding investigations 1
Pollution investigations 9
Miscellaneous investigations and complaints 200
Meetings with the improvement districts 5
Engineering advice to improvement districts, design of works,
etc 1 GG 76 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
HYDRAULIC INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION
T. A. J. Leach, P.Eng., Chief, Hydraulic Investigations Division
Basic to sound water-resource administration is the need for a proper inventory of
what you have and how it can be used. This brief description sums up the main function
of the Hydraulic Investigation Division, but in addition to assessing the waters in more
virgin areas of the Province, the Division's engineers are also studying existing water uses.
At present the Hydraulic Investigation Division is divided into three main sections,
whose contributions to resource development in 1957 are contained in the pages which
follow.
The Water Resources Compilation Section is the oldest of the three sections. During
the last year it has carried out a number of investigations, including hydro-power surveys
within the Fraser, Dease, Stikine, and Peace River watersheds.
In the more habitated areas of the Province, such as the Lower Mainland and
Vancouver Island, the Section has been concerned with local flooding conditions, particularly those caused by the heavy fall and winter rainfalls.
Reports prepared from data obtained in these surveys and investigations are made
available to the public at a nominal cost for assembly only.
The Hydrology Section has for a number of years prepared snow-survey bulletins
during the winter and spring months. The information contained within these bulletins is
obtained through the efforts of local snow surveyors, who sample some eighty-one snow
courses throughout the Province. The data provide an estimate of the total volume of
water that the major rivers may discharge during the period from April to July or April
to August, inclusive. Indicative of the interest in this phase of the work is the present
mailing-list, totalling some 400 names. While the Section's main concern has been in the
field of snow hydrology, it is also interested in rain run-off, particularly in the coastal
areas.
The Fraser River Section, as the name implies, was set up recently to assist the
Fraser River Board. The Board, through its Federal and Provincial agencies, is engaged
at present in preparing a preliminary report to be completed by June, 1958.
Whereas in the past the Water Rights Branch studies have been limited to at-site
hydro-power, engineers are now getting into multiple water-use studies, including system
power proposals where a number of hydro-plants on a river are electrically interconnected.
In summary, it might be said that the ultimate aim of water-resource inventory is the
preparation of a broad master plan for the development of each watershed. Such plans,
when made available early in the history of the Province, will serve as a guide to water
licensing authorities.
These are a few of the major problems facing the Branch to-day and which are
reflected in the reports which follow. Increasing populations have in turn been reflected
in more demands for water investigations, and in some cases field inventories have gotten
ahead of office analysis due primarily to engineering staff shortages.
WATER RESOURCES COMPILATION SECTION
The Water Resources Compilation Section is composed of hydraulic engineers,
technicians, and draughtsmen. The Section is charged with carrying out field investigations and preparing reports on irrigation, hydro-power, domestic water-supply, flooding,
drainage, and allied subjects. This year seventy-five new reports were prepared and sent
to interested parties. In addition to new reports, eighty reprints of older reports were
assembled and distributed, also 125 requests for copies of "Water Powers of British
Columbia " were answered. Further, engineering advice, other than in report form, was
given to the public and other Government departments on many questions of an hydro-
logic or hydraulic nature. WATER RIGHTS BRANCH GG 77
The investigations carried out in 1957 are described in the following pages.
Peace River Power Investigations
(See Plate 2.)
In 1956 surveys of dam-sites on the Peace River were completed in the upper area
near the Wicked River and also in the canyon immediately above Hudson Hope. Maps
at 500 feet to 1 inch showing 20-foot contours are now available.
In 1957 the alternative of a diversion of a portion of the Peace River into the Fraser
River via Summit Lake was investigated. This included a survey of the canal route from
Summit Lake south, requiring photo control of 75 square miles for 1,000-feet-to-l-inch
maps.
Horizontal control was tied to the Provincial triangulation, while vertical control is
based on geodetic datum.
The approximate power-house site on the Fraser River was marked by a pipe post,
positioned horizontally and vertically.
Chilliwack River Investigations
The study initiated during the summer of 1956 was continued as an office study
during 1957, and a report was completed on the flood-control and hydro-electric power
aspects. The most feasible development for power generation was found to include a
storage dam on Chilliwack Lake and a power tunnel leading to a power-house immediately
up-stream of Nesaskwatch Creek. This part of the development would have a head of
620 feet and an installation of about 45,000 horse-power. There would be another dam
at the confluence of the Chilliwack River with Chipmunk Creek, and a power tunnel
would lead from there to a power-house on the banks of the Fraser River about 1 mile
down-stream from the Wahleach power-house. This power-house would operate under
a head of more than 1,100 feet and would have an installation of about 180,000 horsepower. The mean annual output of the two diversions was estimated to be more than
768,000,000 kilowatt-hours. However, the engineering problems of the development
would be difficult, especially those associated with lowering the level of Chilliwack Lake,
the possible sedimentation in the small Chipmunk reservoir, and provision for the passage
of fish.
This power diversion out of the watershed could be operated to reduce flooding, but
it would have to be augmented by storage reservoirs farther down-stream if flood-control
was to be effective. Owing to the lack of suitable dam-sites, the provision of this downstream storage would be very expensive. The capital expenditure necessary to protect
against a flood as large as the highest on record was estimated to be at least $8,900,000,
and the benefits obtained would not justify an expenditure of this magnitude under present
conditions.
Lihumitson and Tamihi Creeks, both down-stream tributaries of the Chilliwack
River, were found to contain good dam-sites and will be suitable for water-supply when
the demand increases enough to justify their development.
The possibility of bank protection of the area between Vedder Crossing and the
Vedder Canal was not covered in the published report, but work is continuing on this
problem.
Mabel Lake Dam-site Investigation
During May several days were spent examining the area at the outlet of Mabel Lake
in order to determine whether any feasible dam-sites exist on the Shuswap River between
the lake and Kingfisher Creek. It was found that no good dam-sites exist in the area and
that those farther down-stream appear more suitable. This work was done for the Fraser
River Board. GG 78
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
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Investigations of Vancouver Island Hydrology
An office study was made of the hydrology of those rivers on Vancouver Island which
the British Columbia Power Commission uses, or contemplates using, for power generation. Included in the study were the Campbell, Salmon, Sproat, Stamp, Ash, Somass,
Puntlege, Kokish, and Nimpkish Rivers. An attempt was made to show what hydrologic
and meteorological data are available and the correlations that exist between the various
drainage systems. A scheme of stream-gauging stations, snow courses, and temperature
and precipitation stations was suggested in order that short-term flood forecasts could be
made, as well as long-term volume run-off predicted. Since the report was written, four
snow courses have been set up by the British Columbia Power Commission.
Bilston Creek Improvement District Drainage
Detailed field investigations, including a topographic survey, were started in the late
fall. This work was carried out as a result of a request for engineering assistance wherein
cost estimates for remedial work for prevention of flooding could be provided. As the
northerly section of the district would appear to be integrally connected with the Lang-
ford, Glen, and Florence Lakes drainage areas, the survey was extended to include these
sections. Due to lack of funds the preceding portion of the survey was not completed.
However, sufficient data have been obtained whereby most of the area can be mapped,
thus enabling a study of the hydrology and hydraulics to be made.
At present some 25 square miles have been controlled for multiplex mapping at
a scale of 400 feet to 1 inch with 10- to 20-foot contour intervals, and enough additional
information was obtained to interpolate 2-foot contour intervals in critical areas.
Profiles were run on Bilston Creek and Langford and Colwood ditches, and elevations and measurements were taken of critical bridges and culverts.
Horizontal control was established by stadia traverses from National Defence monuments, and all traverse stations were controlled by levels tied to geodetic bench-marks.
Dease-Stikine Hydro-power Project
The following is a report of the 1957 field season on the Dease-Stikine power project.
A survey party of eight members spent a full summer in this area.
The investigation was divided into three parts—(a) topography for the possible
canal area; (b) topography for the possible dam-sites on the Tanzilla, Tuya, and Stikine
Rivers; and (c) continuation of the level-line from Sawmill Point to Telegraph Creek
(see Plate 3).
Parts (a) and (b) were controlled for multiplex to produce maps at a scale of 500
feet to 1 inch. This involved fourteen extensions, a total distance of 37 miles. Horizontal
control was gained by means of small triangulation nets tied into the Provincial triangulation system. Eight monuments were controlled in this manner with elevation established
by level.
(a) Canal Area
The area between Dease Lake and the Tanzilla River (approximately 3 miles in
width at the narrowest point) is known as the dividing line between the Arctic and Pacific
watershed. This area, floored largely by terrace deposit, will make possible any proposed
diversion of the Dease Lake storage potential southward, by means of a canal, into the
Stikine River. Several buildings are located on this strip of land, including the Department of Transport weather station. Near by is a gravel-covered airstrip approximately
3,700 feet in length. A monument was established near the weather station and its
elevation determined at 2,639.8 feet. To obtain a complete map of this area, the survey
extends from 1 mile north of the head of Dease Lake southward for a distance of 18 miles. GG 80 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
The Tanzilla River, with an estimated width of approximately 80 feet and a depth
of about 3 feet, twists and turns in a generally south-west direction. The major part of
the lower river-valley consists of swamp and muskeg, and the river-bottom itself is composed of clayey and silty material. Large areas of the forest on the south side of the river
have been destroyed by fire.
(b) Site Topography
The first site topography was carried out on the Tuya and Tanzilla Rivers, extending
from the south boundary of Cariboo Meadows (abandoned) to immediately above their
confluence with the Stikine River.
South of Cariboo Meadows the Tuya Valley is narrow and deep with localized layers
of boulders and gravel. The valley-bottom is strewn with large granite boulders. At the
point where the Dease Lake Road crosses the Tuya River, the gorge is approximately
750 feet in depth.
The Tanzilla at the confluence with the Stikine is also a deeply cut valley about 450
feet in depth and about 1 mile from bank to bank. The slopes are silt, but the narrow
river flows swiftly over a bed of gravel and boulders. Both valleys are visible from the
Dease Lake Road, which winds its way across the plateau between these rivers. A great
fire destroyed most of the forest in this area and deeply scarred the surrounding country.
Three monuments were established horizontally and vertically and can be seen from the
neighbouring mountains.
Time permitted one dam-site survey on the Stikine River, extending a distance of
8 miles south from the Talthan-Stikine confluence. Both rivers have cut deep gorges
of from 200 to 400 feet in depth. The banks are fine silt and basalt rock with local areas
of alternate layers of lava rock and gravel.
In the 1958 season it is planned to control the entire length of the Stikine River from
Klappan River to Telegraph Creek.
(c) The Level-line
During the 1956 survey season, Monument 33 was established at the present end of
the Stewart Highway by the wharf at Sawmill Point. In the 1957 season this fine was
extended, first, along the east shore of Dease Lake, then over the Dease Lake Road into
Telegraph Creek, with the last bench-mark near the C.N. radio-telephone station. Eight
monuments were controlled both horizontally and vertically and an additional ten monuments with vertical control only were established at 5-mile intervals on the Dease Lake-
Telegraph Creek Road. The total length of 99 miles was divided into sections of 1 mile
each, and two lines of levels run simultaneously in the same direction using two rodmen.
A tolerance of 0.040 VM (M=distance in miles) was the required agreement between
the elevations ascertained by the two runs. The levelling operation was carried out using
two Zeiss Ni2 automatic levels and two section rods having foot graduations on one face
and meters on the reverse.
It can be reported that the precise level-line for this project has now been completed.
The rugged terrain and semi-isolated position presented many difficulties of transportation and supply. These problems were overcome through the kind co-operation of
the Department of Highways at Cassiar and Telegraph Creek.
Dease River Dam-site Investigations
(See Plate 3.)
During July a visit was made to the Water Rights Branch survey party in the Dease
and Stikine areas and the dam-sites in the Dease Valley were inspected, together with the
saddle area at the south end of Dease Lake; in addition, portions of the Stikine River
itself were examined, although more careful study will have to wait until more mapping
is available. The Dease River has a flat gradient and the floor of the valley is filled with
alluvium to an unknown depth, no bedrock being visible anywhere on the valley-floor WATER RIGHTS BRANCH GG 81
between Dease Lake and the Liard River, although the valley-walls are composed of
sound rock in some areas. Consequently, there are no good dam-sites along its length,
although further investigation may reveal that it would be possible to build an earth-fill
dam at several sites. Until the mapping of the saddle area is completed and office studies
are made, the feasibility of the various alternatives is unknown.
Regardless of whether the diversion of the Dease River to the Stikine is feasible or
not, the power potential of the Stikine River above Telegraph Creek appears considerable.
The collection of stream-flow records for the Dease and Stikine Rivers has only begun
within the past several years, and until some years of record are available, it will be
difficult to predict the magnitude of the power potential.
Water-supply in the Comox Valley
The Comox Valley area lies on the east side of Vancouver Island, roughly 140 miles
north of Victoria, and includes the Cities of Courtenay and Cumberland, the Village of
Comox, and the Royston Improvement District. Preliminary investigations were carried
out during the summer of 1957 concerning the feasibility of forming a greater water
board for the district, and at a meeting held in the Courtenay City Hall on August 8th,
discussions were initiated amongst representatives from all the centres concerned.
The communities at present, with the exception of the Royston Improvement District,
derive their water-supplies from independent sources. Courtenay draws water from an
intake on the Browns River; Cumberland, which also supplies Royston, from a system
of dams and lakes lying to the south-west of the city; and Comox Village from two
recently commissioned deep wells.
While the existing schemes appear adequate for present requirements, future needs
must inevitably dictate modifications and enlargement, and the incorporation of all
sources of supply under one greater water board may prove to be in the best interest of
all concerned.
During the course of the investigations, existing water schemes were inspected,
potential dam and intake sites were visited, and data relating to consumption figures,
population, distribution, pressures, etc., were obtained from the local authorities.
Mapping of the area is under way at a scale of 20 chains to 1 inch, using some
sixty-seven overlaps and covering an approximate area of 360 square miles. Horizontal
control established by triangulation was tied into the Provincial net, while vertical control
was based on geodetic datum. Field work was initiated in July and completed in the
middle of September.
Severe flooding of the low-lying areas in the Westholme Valley, approximately
8 miles north of Duncan, from flood-waters of the Chemainus River, presents an annual
problem, and results in damage to property and the temporary blocking of roads at
several points.
The area concerned was mapped during the summer by photogrammetric methods,
and in addition more detailed surveys and cross-sections were taken at critical points.
Records of high water-levels during previous floods are meagre, and to provide more
accurate information in this respect, ten gauges were installed at bridges and other points
on the Chemainus River, and also on smaller creeks in the flooded area. Strips of a
water-soluble paint were painted adjacent to the gauges to provide an additional check
on maximum flood-levels. It is expected that information so obtained will greatly assist
in determining a solution to this problem.
Field investigations in connection with this work were made in September and
October of 1957.
Air photography of the area, while satisfactory for planimetric detail, would only
give contours at 10-foot intervals, whereas much closer definement of drainage is necessary. This required spot-heighting to show 2-foot contours and less. GG 82
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
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GG 83
Profiles were also run along the Chemainus River and the upper portions of Bonsall
Creek, and critical elevations at bridges and culverts were taken.
Primary horizontal control was supplied by precise traverses initiated at Boundary
Monument 765j, which has a co-ordinated position, while secondary control was by
stadia traverses.
Snow Surveys and Forecasts
Eighty-one snow courses will be in active operation for the 1958 sampling season.
During the past summer eight new courses were established, one discontinued, and one
relocated. The British Columbia Power Commission has installed new courses at June
Lake (93), Burman Lake (94), Upper Thelwood Lake (95), and Memory Lake (96)
on the Buttle Lake-Ash River watersheds for the purpose of forecasting future water-
supply. They have also established permanent courses at Park Mountain (91) and
Barnes Creek (90) for their British Columbia Interior Whatsan development. One more
course was added to our Fraser network at Highland Valley (92), just east of Ashcroft,
and one located at Log Cabin (97), just off the right-of-way of the Yukon-White Pass
Railway near Bennett, B.C.
The data for all snow measurements made since snow surveying began in British
Columbia, up to and including 1957, are now compiled and will be published as a
summary in the near future.
Accuracy of the 1957 Run-off Forecasts Based on Snow-survey Data
The results of the 1957 stream-flow forecasts were as follows: All of the fourteen
forecasts made were less than 15 per cent in error; ten forecasts, 10 per cent or less in
error; and seven forecasts less than 5 per cent in error.
The following table gives a comparison of forecasted and actual 1957 volume
flows:—
Accuracy of Run-off Forecasts, 1957
No.
Gauging-stations
Forecast,
1,000
Ac.-Ft.
Actual,
1,000
Ac.-Ft.
Difference
1,000
Ac.-Ft.
Per Cent
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Columbia River at Nicholson1...
Columbia River at Revelstoke1-
Columbia River at Birchbank1..
Kootenay River at Wardner1
Elk River at Stanley Park1
Lardeau River at Gerrard1
Duncan River at Howser1
Slocan River at Crescent Valley1..
Inflow to Kootenay Lake1
Inflow to Okanagan Lake4
North Thompson River at Barriere4-
Fraser River at Hope1
Inflow to Stave Lake4
Inflow to Powell Lake4
Inflow to Lois Lake4
2,193
17,232
39,839
4,250
1,198
626
1,881
1,890
16,190
300
7,500
51,000
1,149
978
240
2
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3.
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188
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717
601
337
417
700
028
071
232
+ 15
—607
+ 1,651
+385
+ 147
+30
+ 173
+589
—37
-917
— 1,700
+ 121
—93
+8
+0.7
—3.4
+4.3
+ 10.0
+ 13.9
+ 1.6
+ 10.0
+3.8
— 11.0
— 10.9
—3.2
+ 11.8
-8.6
+3.4
1 April to August, inclusive, flows.
2 Flow for April, estimate.
3 Gauge discontinued September, 1956.
4 April to July, inclusive, flows.
FRASER RIVER BOARD SECTION
In 1955 a revitalized Fraser River Board began to carry out extensive studies and
flood-control, power potential, and other resource-benefit investigations on the Fraser
River system. In 1956 the Board, acting under specific terms of reference, had made
available to the Federal and Provincial Governments in its interim report on " Investiga- GG 84 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
tions into Measures for Flood Control in the Fraser River Basin" the results of earlier
research.
In further compliance with these same terms of reference, the Fraser River Board
has been conducting studies in preparation for a second and interim report "with respect
to the effective regulation of the river system for flood control and power and the resultant
effect on navigation, fisheries, silting, erosion and irrigation ... for completion . . .
not later than 30th June, 1956."
While the published report deals almost entirely with the flood problem on this great
river, this second report will cover many of the associated problems listed in the terms of
reference. It can be appreciated that the production of large blocks of power from
extensive hydro-electric generating-stations which might be established within the Fraser
River system would have an appreciable effect upon the economy of the Province. Such
an effect might be both beneficial and adverse. Cheap electrical energy represents an
attraction to heavy industry, and this Province can readily absorb substantial amounts of
this commodity. The subsequent establishment of such industrial areas produces a development of many secondary industries which swarm to those parts where surplus power
at reasonable rates may be obtained. Further, it may be seen that related industries in
the Province may benefit by the availability of cheap energy.
However, this is not the whole story. The construction of dams upon the Fraser
River system will have some effect upon a firmly established fishing industry born out of
the tremendous runs of sockeye salmon and other species which annually migrate upon
the Fraser River. While it is not expected that the problem of fish versus power will be
resolved in the forthcoming report, it is hoped that many of the basic points will be discussed and the issues clarified.
Associated problems will also receive attention in this interim report, and it is anticipated that, amongst other things, the amount of flood-control which can be obtained by
the regulation of the Fraser River for power purposes will be covered in some detail.
Fraser River Surveys
Bowron River Dam-sites
Completion of the Bowron River survey included the mapping of Sites 109 and
109k, some 30 miles down-stream from Bowron Lake.
Upper Fraser River Dam-sites
The possibility of a dam on the Fraser River at Olsson Creek (a short distance downstream from the confluence of the Fraser with the McGregor River) was investigated.
Such a storage reservoir, with a top elevation of between 2,100 and 2,150 feet, would
require a second dam at Eaglet Lake.
The Fraser River gradient in this area is very low (about 1:5,000), and such a
reservoir extending up-stream would reach beyond Grand Canyon on the main river and
flood the lower canyon of the McGregor River to a depth of 50 feet. This large reservoir
could completely regulate the watershed.
Mapping of the Olsson Creek site and some sub-surface exploration of the Eaglet
Lake site have already been undertaken, and this work is continuing in 1958.
Investigation of Existing Hydro-power Installations in
British Columbia
(See Plates 4 and 5.)
The hydro-power developments of the Province of British Columbia, from which is
derived about 90 per cent of the revenue of the Water Rights Branch, constitute one of
the important phases of the Branch's work. WATER rights branch
GG 85
A major item has been the preparation of an extensive questionnaire designed to
cover all aspects of a power development, which has been sent to all major utilities and
power-users for completion. This should provide the Water Rights Branch with up-to-
date and accurate information on each large hydro-development, which will be augmented
by ground inspections as opportunity permits.
Familiarization with and inspection of new power developments is another important
phase of this assignment. Among those visited during the year have been the British
Columbia Electric Company's Cheakamus development and the modernization of the
Clowhom Falls plant. An examination of Alcan's Kenney Dam and Skins Lake Spillway
was made in August, 1957, while the Powell River Company's developments were visited
during September.
Changes have been initiated in the maintenance of statistics dealing with power
developments, and mechanical tabulation is being utilized to a much greater extent. The
long overdue checking and recording of power licences and production figures, the verification of rentals, etc., are now under way.
The development of hydro-electric power in British Columbia from 1920 to 1956 is
shown graphically in Plates 4 and 5 in terms of annual production in kilowatt-hours
and of installed turbine capacity in horse-power, with a comparison shown between four
major groups of companies. It will be noted that total installation in the Province now
exceeds 2,600,000 horse-power, three times as great as the 800,000-horsepower capacity
of 1945. A similar increase is shown in the actual consumption of electrical energy,
which has jumped from 3,083 million kilowatt-hours in 1945 to 9,314 million kilowatt-
hours in 1956.
While no trends have been established for future guidance, the documentary submission by the Government of British Columbia to the Royal Commission on Canada's
Economic Prospects predicted that by 1975 more than half the Province's vast potential
of over 40,000,000 horse-power in hydro-power will be developed. This increase over
to-day's installed capacity signifies unprecedented activity throughout the Province and is
ample justification for the efforts of the Water Rights Branch to maintain accurate and
up-to-date information on all power development. GG 86
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
DEVELOPMENT OF HYDRO-POWER. IN B.C.
INSTALLED TURBINE CAPACITY 1920-56
900
0.
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500
500
300
3000
1500
19EO
35 AO AS
CALENDAR. YEARS
Plate 4. WATER RIGHTS BRANCH
GG 87
35O0
3OO0
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2 15O0
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5 1000
500
DEVELOPMENT OF HYDRO-POWER IN B.C.
KW.H.GENERATED BY MAJOR PRODUCERS
1320-56
INDIVIDUAL- POWER
PRODUCTION
1 1 l 1 1
ALUMINUM COMPANY OF CANADA
BRITISH COLUMBIA ELECTRIC CO.
BRITISH COLUMBIA, POWER COMMISSION
CONSOLIDATED MINING & SMELTING CO.
2SO0
2000
1500
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SO 25 30 35 40 45 SO 55 I960
CALENDAR YEARS
-
TOTAL POWE
-R. PRC
IDUCE.
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12000
I0OO0
8000
6000
4000
2000
-
-
-
-
-
-
19
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 I960
C_.AI_E.NDAR. VEAR.S
Plate 5. UNIVERSITY ENDOWMENT LANDS UNIVERSITY ENDOWMENT LANDS
GG 91
UNIVERSITY ENDOWMENT LANDS
M. E. Ferguson,Manager
The University Endowment Lands, as the name implies, was originally created for
the purpose of establishing an endowment for assisting the University. Unfortunately, no
specific terms of reference were set out to show exactly what kind of assistance was intended, and, as a result, considerable controversy has existed over the years. This is just
one of many vital problems that must be dealt with when planning future expansion and
operations and is one of many reasons why an earlier decision was not reached. We are
hopeful that next year will see some decision reached regarding out future operations, and
that, if economic conditions justify, we may even get started on additional subdivisions.
General operations of the year were rather normal, and, as" such, nothing of too great
importance occurred. Probably the most outstanding occurrence was the completion of
arrangements with the City of Vancouver whereby the City Fire Department will answer
calls to the University area, campus, or residential area at an agreed charge based on man-
hours involved for each call. This arrangement is only for a three-year period, but it
should provide adequate protection until we have an opportunity of deciding on a more
definite future programme.
During the past year another rather important advancement was made when we
became an official member of the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage Board.
Once again the year's operations were carried out with very little increase in the mill
rate, but unless additional property can be added to the next year's assessment roll, it
seems almost certain the rising cost of materials, services, and wages will force an even
greater increase in taxes or a reduction in services provided.
During the year a Centennial Committee was elected, and they will be in charge of
our participation in British Columbia's greatest anniversary celebrations. The memorial
undertaking, which has been approved and funds provided for, calls for returfing of the
3.5-acre play-field at the elementary school and generally improving the field, including
construction of a cinder track for track and field events if funds permit. This project will
be done through the office and staff of the University Endowment Lands.
The following tables will show we are almost at a standstill so far as building and
construction, but this will continue until we have additional property for sale since there
are no building-sites left to build on.
STATISTICAL
Table A.—Lot Sales
There were no lot sales in Units 1 and 2 for the years 1955, 1956, 1957.
Table B.—Number and Value of Building Permits Issued during the Years
Ended December 31st, 1955, 1956, and 1957
1955
1956
1957
Number
Value
Number
Value
Number
Value
1
2
3
10
7
$54,654.00
7,700.00
116,000.00
1
3
3
12
9
$149,681.00
23,500.00
115,000.00
1
3
1
14
10
$6,500.00
67,000.00
42,000.00
91,990.00
58,100.00
31,100.00
Garages, etc _
6,450.00
~ $276,794.00 _
6,880.00
6,850.00
Totals _
23
28
$353,161.00
29
$153,450.00 GG 92
DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND FORESTS
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Ov PERSONNEL OFFICE PERSONNEL OFFICE GG 95
PERSONNEL OFFICE
J. H. Palmer
STAFF CHANGES
The year's separations reached a record number of sixty-nine. Two of these were
retirements, one being that of P. M. Monckton, Surveyor, Legal Surveys Division, and
the other R. Pollard, District Engineer, Water Rights Branch, Nelson, after thirty-two
years of service. Two deaths through illness occurred—E. J. Gray, instrument-maker,
Air Division, and J. A. Underwood, Supervisor, Mail and File Room, who had thirty-
seven years of service behind him. W. A. Minion, Land Inspector, Kamloops, suffered
accidental death by drowning during the course of his field duties. His loss, as well as
that of the others mentioned above, is a serious one, both personally and departmentally.
Of the remaining separations, two were involuntary, nine were transfers to other
departments, and fifty-three were for various reasons, usually to accept other employment.
Eighty new appointments and transfers were made and eleven promotions were
implemented as a result of Civil Service competitions. Forty-two individual reclassifications were implemented.
The foregoing figures do not include approximately 100 temporary personnel who
were hired as survey assistants or for special duties for short periods.
ESTABLISHMENT
A net increase of twelve positions resulted from the deletion of the four-man Property Room staff from this Service and its transfer to the Forest Service, and the addition
of sixteen positions. Of these sixteen, nine were merely inductions of continuously
employed personnel formerly in the outside staff and the remaining seven were new
altogether.
TRAINING
Five senior personnel successfully completed the first yeiar of the Executive Development Training Course and commenced their second year's work. Three more were
selected for the second course, which started in September.
The Personnel Officer participated on a committee which led to the holding of a
course in map draughting under the sponsorship of the Civil Service Commission and the
Canadian Vocational Training. Twenty young men qualified, and eight of them were
appointed to this Department.
Arrangements were also made for an appraisal institute to be held under the same
auspices in 1958, and it is expected that all Land Inspectors will thus obtain an essential
qualification.
LABOUR RELATIONS AND GENERAL STAFF MATTERS
Protracted negotiations with the University Endowment Lands Fire Fighters' Association resulted in the largest salary increase to date being granted to first-class firemen.
Negotiations with the outside workers there resulted in a salary increase of similar proportions for most classifications.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in recruiting for all classifications, but particularly so in technical, professional, and stenographic positions. The chief problem
seemed to be the salaries offered. Several briefs on salary rates from various groups of
employees were submitted either through Departmental channels or under the grievance
procedure, and the Department itself made recommendations in this regard to the Civil
Service Commission. MAIL AND FILE ROOM GG 99
MAIL AND FILE ROOM
John A. Grant
The pass-slip system, indicating the location of files in the Department, instituted
February, 1957, underwent some changes. Effective December 2nd, 1957, a new file-
charge slip with multiple-listing space was brought into use. Under this procedure a
charge slip is made out each time a file is passed from one individual to another. The
original copy of the charge slip is sent to the file vault and the duplicate is attached to the
file, charging it to the new recipient of the file.
The Central Microfilming Bureau began the filming of obsolete "0" files in 1956,
and to date 175,000 files have been processed. It is expected the project will be completed by the end of February, 1958.
The anticipated transfer of 240 volumes of Crown grants to the lower vaults will
create additional office space in the upper vault. At present over 200 volumes have been
microfilmed, and it is anticipated that the undertaking will be completed sometime in
1958, after which reference to the Crown grants will be made by means of microfilm. GG 100
department of lands and forests
Letters Inward
Branch
1956
1957
10-year Average,
1948 to 1957
38,571
136,061
23,755
17,247
37,335i
132,8891
12,518i
14,395i
33,214
78,012
13,410
13,113
Totals.— _
215,634
197,137
137,749
1 Estimated for one month (December) and totalled.
Letters Outward (Recorded)
1 Estimated for one month (December) and totalled.
Miscellaneous Reports Received
Branch
1956
1957
10-year Average,
1948 to 1957
8,006
2,237
1,238
9,609i
2,138i
l,898i
17,428
10,770
4,154
3,288
Totals _
11,481
13,645
35,640
Designation
1956
1957
10-year Average,
1948 to 1957
Forest-fire reports _
Slash-disposal reports.
Logging-inspection reports..
Land-classification reports ...
Cruise reports .
Stumpage-adjustment notices.
Totals-
5,634
331
14,556
2,829
1,957
2,200
3,238i
540i
16,002i
2,490
l,168i
6,554i
27,507
29,992
2,580
655
15,325
2,159
20,719
1 Estimated for one month (December) and totalled.
New Files Created
Designation
1956
1957
10-year Average,
1948 to 1957
4,254
1,762
4,270
4,482i
l,158i
3,1151
4,827
1,601
3,404
Totals _ —
10,286
8,755
9,832
1 Estimated for one month (December) and totalled.
Printed by Don McDiahmid, Printer to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty
in right of the Province of British Columbia.
1958
1,060-358-4175
BC Sessional Papers
Report of the Lands Service containing the reports of the Lands Branch, Surveys and Mapping Branch, and… British Columbia. Legislative Assembly [1958]
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