BUILD
IT, AND THEY WILL COME
Written by Ann Carpenter,
on the occasion of the lake's 25th anniversary in 1997
Picturesque
Robinson Lake is located in the rural Comox Valley community of Black
Creek on beautiful Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Approximately
14 acres in size, this man-made lake is spring-fed, stocked with rainbow
trout, and forms the focal point for the 36 homes that ring its shore.
The lake and its surrounding real estate development were the brainchild
of Bill Robinson, one of the pioneer residents of Black Creek, subsequently
a resident of nearby Comox.
"When I first talked about this project, everyone thought I was
crazy", comments Robinson, "except my wife Helen, who encouraged
me. I wouldn't have gone ahead without her support. But I'd done the
homework, I knew what I wanted, so I went to work to make it happen."
"I originally purchased the land in 1946, about 200 acres in all,"
said Robinson. I'd wanted to put in a lake for some time," he explained.
"I knew there were dozens of fresh water springs in that particular
area, and my research indicated that the project was feasible."
So in the winter of 1971 Robinson started the preliminary work of mapping
out the design. After tramping over the area, by early spring he'd put
together a plaster model of how the lake and surrounding area would
look.
"I
brought the first machines to the site in mid-April of 1972," Robinson
explained. "We used two D-8 Cats to clear the willow scrub that
covered the area." And by July the site was ready for excavation.
"At that point I went looking for the necessary equipment to do
the job," said Robinson. "After searching the lower mainland
and some other locations, I finally found the machines I wanted in 
Victoria."
Accordingly Victoria contractors Wakeman & Trimble got the contract
to excavate the lake.
The equipment
consisted of two 25-yard belly scrapers, two 10-yard belly scrapers and
two pusher Cats. "I had 300,000 yards of dirt to be moved, and I
wanted it moved fast," stated Robinson. "My calculations showed
that if the machines worked to capacity, they should be able to move 70
yards of dirt every 7 minutes - and they did. The company told me afterwards
their equipment had never moved as much dirt in that amount of time in
the history of their operation."
Once excavation began, it was determined that the water level was only
about 2 ½ feet below the ground surface. The first 2 feet was top
soil, below that water-saturated sand, and under that a layer of clay.
It was this layer of clay that was to act as a bowl to maintain the water
level of the lake.
"Once we reached the sand, we had to keep a pump running to remove
the spring water while we continued excavating," explained Robinson.
"We put in a drain pipe at the northwest corner of the lake, and
kept the valve open 24 hours a day."
And were there any surprises as the work proceeded? "Not really,"
said Robinson. "I found the ground a little soft at the south end.
I had to watch, and when the ground started to cave underneath the machines,
I had to pull them back. Also we found that the clay was closer to the
surface at the south end, and we had to be careful not to dig through
it. That's why the north end of the lake is deeper than the south end."
Upon completion of the excavation by Sept. 15, the final elevations were
completed on the 50 lots that surround the lake. "I raised the lots
with a 40-foot slope on the front, 50 feet on the level, and 110 feet
of slope to the road," explained Robinson.
"We then installed a fountain to provide aeration and cooling for
the fish, and assembled a row of fish shelters . Once that was completed,
we were ready to fill the lake. I closed the drain valve in September,
February, 1988 |
and the lake
was full by December."
And has the lake development turned out the way he envisioned? "No,
we were supposed to be retired there!", smiles Robinson. "But
other than that, it's turned out pretty much the way I planned it."
