Surveying Challenges

Surveying Challenges

We faced some serious surveying challenges on the east shore of Kootenay Lake. The survey

posts that were in place did not make any sense. They were almost three hundred feet short of

where they should have been. I luckily happened to discuss the matter with a gentleman who's

famous for his historical knowledge of the east shore. He was a tremendous man. He owned a

store, a sort of outpost, and also became a notary.

I was in the store buying something and mentioned the survey. He piped up and said that he had

been on the original survey team when he was a young lad. He remembered working on the

survey and knew that they did not have a chance to finish.

They ran out of daylight and put in a “witness” post in an erroneous position. For some reason,

the problem was overlooked. I took an affidavit from him that the post was not in the correct

position. Because he was a notary, his word really meant something. I re-established the corner

where it should have been.

This example demonstrates a simple truth about our business: The boundary line is wherever you

put the post, even if it is not at the precise point intended. An error like this could—and did—

cause great difficulty in professional survey work. Land surveyors have to make decisions about

where to put the boundary line and are almost qualified to act as a judge.

I have been an expert witness on a fair number of court cases and know well the situations that

surveyors face. An example is a decision I made in East Kootenay at Watson Lake. I was

surveying a piece of highway right of way for the government, a nice stretch that was two or

three miles long, straight as an arrow. When surveying there, I came across an erroneous

measurement that did not make any sense. The post was in an inappropriate position, two to three

hundred feet from where it should have been. I happened to talk to the occupant of the property,

who was the son of the original owner. After I told him of the surveying trouble I was having, he

piped up and voluntarily told me that his dad had moved the post.

What sometimes happens is that a property owner, especially when there is nobody living next

door or the neighbouring property belongs to the government, sees some nice land and moves the

post to where they want it. They figure that nobody will know the difference. By moving the post

over, this guy’s father had gained the use, for twenty or thirty years, of a nice meadow. The son

willingly acknowledged that he knew they did not own the land.

I think I probably took an affidavit from the son saying that he knew the post had been moved.

This example shows that decisions in surveying are like judicial decisions. These matters can be

serious, and as the surveyor, you have to believe that right is right. The guy probably lost ten

acres or a substantial piece of government land that his family was using but did not own. If he

wanted to own it, he would have to buy it from the government. I never did find out if anything

was done.