Drought in B.C. has salmon running 'a marathon in a sauna,' foundation warns

British Columbia's prolonged drought risks damaging the salmon population for generations and has led to a series of emergency, rapidly deployed projects in an effort to intervene. In the Comox Valley, aerators have been installed in the Tsolum River to maximize salmon survival by increasing dissolved oxygen levels, and work has started at the mouth of the Tranquille River to re-establish water flow between the upper and lower sections so salmon can migrate upstream to their spawning grounds. More than 80 per cent of the province is at Level 4 or 5 drought conditions, the highest possible rankings, after months of little or no rain.