No more sewage is draining into the Capilano River, but the investigation is just beginning: Province
Putrefactive, raw sewage is no longer flowing into the Capilano River on the north shore, although officials say several investigations into the spill and the resulting damage from the weeks-long leak have only just begun.
BC Public Safety Secretary Mike Farnworth said Monday the government is evaluating the leak to understand how it started, how to clean up the river and how a similar spill could be prevented.
“This is something the government takes very, very seriously,” Farnworth said at a news conference.
“[An analysis is to] Make sure the cleanup is done as quickly and efficiently as possible, to minimize damage to fish stocks… and also to see if there are additional steps to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
The Squamish Nation said the leak stopped Monday morning, about a week after it began dumping an undisclosed amount of waste into the waterway. The nation, whose territories include much of North Vancouver, has warned the public to stay away from the river, which is usually a popular spot for fishing and swimming, as officials try to understand if long-term damage has been done.
The province first heard about the leak on March 6, although the spill was only made public after the nation was informed on Friday.
“You’re walking past the area…the stench is pretty strong,” Squamish Nation Coun chose. said Wilson Williams in an interview on Monday.
“It’s very worrying.”
The sewage came from a storm drain pipe on a private property near Fullerton Avenue in West Vancouver, according to the province – although the exact source has not been confirmed and it is unclear how much waste ended up in the water.
Vancouver-based Wynford Property Management, which represents the property owner, went to the site on Sunday with a provincial environmental officer and representatives from the Squamish Nation and the District of North Vancouver.
The province said Wynford took action to “mitigate” the spill. Any residual waste left behind Monday was “diverted for disposal,” the nation said.
Water samples from around the drain pipe were shipped to a local laboratory for analysis, with samples from the nearby Squamish Nation reservation due to be analyzed on Monday.
Metro Vancouver, which manages the region’s water supply, has deferred questions from CBC News to the ministry, as has the District of North Vancouver.
The Capilano River flows through the Coast Mountains in Metro Vancouver and at one peak feeds the Capilano Reservoir at Cleveland Dam – one of three reservoirs that provide drinking water for the Metro Vancouver area.
Fullerton Avenue is about two kilometers from where the river meets Burrard Inlet near Ambleside Park and the Lions Gate Bridge.
The river also contains a large salmon hatchery operated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. A hatchery representative said in an email that the leak had been reported to the department’s fish and fish habitat protection program.
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