The Columbia Fuels gasoline spill looms over Goldstream RiverB次元官网网址檚 famed salmon run, but it remains unclear what is trigging low coho and chinook returns so far.

Each morning Goldstream hatchery volunteers are finding only a few salmon, if any, at the japanese weir that funnels returning fish into a cage. By this time last year they counted 333 coho. This year itB次元官网网址檚 about 60.

The Capital Region watershed started flushing Goldstream River a few weeks ago with an extra 10 million gallons per day to entice fish to enter the spawning grounds, but so far they havenB次元官网网址檛 taken the bait.

B次元官网网址淲e know fish are in the inlet. In the past when you release water, youB次元官网网址檒l see chinook and early coho,B次元官网网址� said Peter McCully, the fish technologist with the Goldstream hatchery. B次元官网网址淭his year weB次元官网网址檙e not seeing it.B次元官网网址�

Understanding why the run is delayed is more elusive. McCully says AprilB次元官网网址檚 fuel spill is just one of a number of factors which could influence the spawning cycle. Predation from growing seal populations in Saanich Inlet, water temperature and salinity and the number of maple leaves falling into the stream can alter the level and timing of fish returns.

B次元官网网址淓arly indicators are not encouraging at this point,B次元官网网址� McCully says. B次元官网网址淏ut the clock hasnB次元官网网址檛 run out yet. But I am less inclined to think the fuel is having a significant impact.B次元官网网址�

Of the 42,000 litres of gasoline and 700 litres of diesel that gushed into Goldstream River on April 16, trace amounts remain. McCully said the ongoing monitoring program has measured B次元官网网址渟ub lethalB次元官网网址� levels of fuel.

B次元官网网址�(Fuel) levels are below what is safe for drinking water, and below the minimum requirement for life,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淭here is a miniscule amount in the creek.B次元官网网址�

Spawning salmon are extremely sensitive to pollutants, but they already face a certain level of hydrocarbons flushed each year off the highway after the first heavy fall rain.

The key test of the riverB次元官网网址檚 health will be the return of thousands of chum salmon, which typically peaks mid-November. Last year the run collapsed after only 4,500 chum returned to the river. In 2009, 19,000 chum made their way to their spawning grounds and 32,000 swam up the river in 2008.

B次元官网网址淎ll the fish are a barometer of health, but the chum are the draw for visitors,B次元官网网址� McCully says. B次元官网网址淭he big selling feature is the chum run.B次元官网网址�

Dan Claxton, the fisheries manager for the Tsawout First Nation, surveyed areas of the Saanich Inlet using sonar this week. Fish are out there, but itB次元官网网址檚 still early in the season.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 not enough water in Goldstream River with all these sunny days,B次元官网网址� Claxton said. If we have a few good days of rain, theyB次元官网网址檒l head up the river. ThereB次元官网网址檚 the odd one going up now.B次元官网网址�

Tsawout and other First Nations will team up with the Department of Fisheries for a test seine fishery in Saanich Inlet next week. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l get a better idea whatB次元官网网址檚 around,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 too early to be concerned.B次元官网网址�

Goldstream cleanup continues

Goldstream River is largely free of gasoline and diesel from AprilB次元官网网址檚 spill, but not without overturning a few rocks.

First Nations members involved in the cleanup effort manually raked about 900 square meters of river in September to jostle fuel stuck under stones and gravel. Gasoline breaks down quickly when exposed to sun.

B次元官网网址淎 survey by First Nations identified areas we they were seeing some sheen, there was some odour,B次元官网网址� said Graham Knox, manager of the environmental emergency program with the Ministry of Environment. B次元官网网址淭hey got in there an moved rocks and raked gravel. That freed up the hydrocarbons. It worked very well.B次元官网网址�

Environmental contractors working for Columbia Fuels are working on three remaining pockets of fuel near the river B次元官网网址� one at the spill site on the highway, and two between the spill site and Finlayson Arm Road in Goldstream park. Even six months later, the odour of gasoline wafts from one of the pockets.

Knox suspects that at the time of the spill, fuel flowed into side channels and became trapped in depressions in the earth. Contractors are sinking wells to delineate the scope of the trapped fuel, and will use a technical system to suck hydrocarbons out of the soil.

Knox said its difficult to know how exactly much fuel is in the ground, but it is above contamination standards.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very difficult to know how much is there. It could be a vein (of fuel),B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 believe it is a significant amount in the two areas. The potential for the most is at the spill site.B次元官网网址�

Monitoring water quality in Goldstream is weekly and ongoing. Columbia Fuels is still working on its proposal for how much compensation it will pay for restoration of the Goldstream ecosystem.

British Columbia doesnB次元官网网址檛 have a standard formula to generate a dollar amount, so the ministry is asking Columbia to submit a proposal using several models used in the U.S.

Knox said the company will need to provide a rationale for what it proposes to pay. The working group overseeing the cleanup B次元官网网址� government agencies, Columbia and its environmental consultants, First Nations and hatchery volunteers B次元官网网址� also need to set out restoration goals and priorities.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 got to be a reasonable amount for restoration, and weB次元官网网址檝e got to agree what that means,B次元官网网址� Knox said. B次元官网网址淚f that doesnB次元官网网址檛 work out or if Columbia backs out, then weB次元官网网址檒l look at the legislation. We hope to work through consensus and agree on what projects need to be finished.B次元官网网址�

editor@goldstreamgazette.com