A longstanding steward of Cuthbert Holmes Park was stunned to find wet cement making its way into the salmon-bearing Colquitz River estuary from the McKenzie interchange construction last week.
ItB次元官网网址檚 the latest contaminated source of runoff from the project into the river, and while representatives from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure believe the contamination is minimal, environmental advocate Dorothy Chambers noted this never should have happened in the first place.
B次元官网网址淥ur environmental tests showed there was no cement in the river,B次元官网网址� said Janelle Erwin, MOTI deputy director, south coast region.
However, Chambers disagreed. It was Chambers who discovered the contamination and pooling of cement, which has since hardened against the silt fences that crews placed to protect the park from runoff.
B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 a ridiculous assumption on their part that wet cement didnB次元官网网址檛 reach the water,B次元官网网址� Chambers said. B次元官网网址淭here were no monitors were on site, it was a mininum four to six hours before testing, and IB次元官网网址檓 quite sure it was the next day they tested [a running river]. When I returned everything was moved, the drill equipment, and a vacuum truck was there removing materials.B次元官网网址�
Chambers talked to members from all levels of government, municipal, federal, and provincial, and said concern went beyond the contamination, as the spill should have been reported immediately.
B次元官网网址淭his is something that absolutely has to be reported immediately by the crew who did this, and they didnB次元官网网址檛,B次元官网网址� Chambers said. B次元官网网址淚t was up to me to report it, and as soon as I did, there was an investigation, straw was laid and a pump truck came to remove contaminants.B次元官网网址�
Wet cement, clay and sediment are all threats to the young salmon which live in the Colquitz River, said Chambers, .
Work on the $85 million project is bustling with an expected completion date for mid-2019, with heavy duty rock scaling, removal and excavation underway. A berm of rock and fill is also filling up fast on the border of Cuthbert Holmes Park between the highway and Burnside Road.
ItB次元官网网址檚 along the edges of the construction border with Cuthbert Holmes that a series of drill holes were made last week, up to 70 feet deep. A ministry statement said that once drilling was completed, an instrument to measure slope stability was installed with grout to hold it in place within the hole. The grout was a mixture of bentonite grout and Portland cement.
MOTI confirmed that there was an environmental investigation completed and that a vacuum truck was used to remove the accumulated sediment from the bases of the silt fences and some of the light layer of sediment on the grass (as much as possible without disturbing the vegetation) and the remainder was covered by straw.
However, the ministry statement said that its silt fences captured the majority of the clay sediment and that the results of an independent environmental consultantsB次元官网网址� investigation show there was no contaminated runoff.
B次元官网网址淚t was a mixture of the non-chlorinated potable water (used to lubricate the drill) and the native subsurface clay that was disrupted while drilling the hole,B次元官网网址� said MOTI. B次元官网网址淭he clay sediment mixed with the ground water and caused it to become murky and grey-coloured. It was not the use of grout that caused the change in water colour.B次元官网网址�
MOTI also said that before any more drilling occurs near the silt fences, all existing silt fences are being examined and repaired as needed. As well, during future drilling activities, crews will continuously walk between the last silt fence and the river.
But Chambers and others in the area see it as just to the Colquitz River and estuary.
- This story was updated for clarity on March 22
