In the decade leading up to 2014, water levels dropped to the point that it "required the trucking of fish up the river," and the Cowichan Valley Regional District instituted water restrictions for residents.[3]
The Cowichan River had once had salmon so plentiful that "old-timers talk about having been able to cross on the backs of fish so thick they were like steppingstones," and was world-renowned for its fly fishing. However, in 2023, due to the impacts of climate change, the river experienced a major fish die-off.[4]