Like an unruly mob, a pack of Grade 4 and 5 students from Marigold elementary eagerly crowd around Barrie Goodwin as he pulls a 12-pound coho out of a large cooler at his feet.
The kids immediately reach out to pet the salmon B次元官网网址� a dead four-year-old male B次元官网网址� but Goodwin turns away, shielding the fish from the group. B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 want you smelling like fish the rest of the day,B次元官网网址� he exclaims.
Standing at the shoreline of the Colquitz River, Goodwin and Chris Bos, both stream stewards, give the students a joint history-science lesson on the salmon-bearing river.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been learning about the connection between stormwater runoff and the quality of our streams and rivers, and IB次元官网网址檓 noticing weB次元官网网址檙e near a giant parking lot and a huge highway,B次元官网网址� says teacher Marnie Toh. B次元官网网址淐an you tell us, is that an issue in this creek?B次元官网网址�
Calling it B次元官网网址渁n issueB次元官网网址� would be an understatement, given the ColquitzB次元官网网址檚 past year.
It was on Nov. 25, 2011 that Saanich discovered a 1,100-litre home heating oil spill on Kenneth Avenue. Most of that fuel had already flowed into a storm drain and polluted Colquitz River, Colquitz Creek and Swan Creek.
The Colquitz stewards, who had spent the previous two months counting the 252 Coho that swam up the creek to spawn, dismantled their fish counting fence behind Tillicum Centre in the hopes that the fish in the oil-soaked water would swim downstream back into the Gorge and escape the polluted area. In the days following, 24 adult salmon were found dead in the river.
Then on Feb. 23, 2012, the Colquitz was polluted again when another home heating tank leaked, this time spilling 630 litres of oil into the river near Vanalman Avenue.
And just last week, B.C. Hydro took responsibility for an oily sheen on the Colquitz River after mineral oil from a power cable leaked into the waterway.
B次元官网网址淚f weB次元官网网址檙e going to keep the fish and wildlife values for you and your kids in the future, we need to be careful that we donB次元官网网址檛 pollute these creeks,B次元官网网址� Bos tells the students. B次元官网网址淚f the storm water isnB次元官网网址檛 clean ... we will have a problem B次元官网网址� we will lose these values in the future.B次元官网网址�
Adriane Pollard, SaanichB次元官网网址檚 manager of environmental services, says home heating spills of the last 12 months have been an eye-opening lesson for the municipality. Including the two big spills in the Colquitz, there were eight known home heating oil spills in Saanich since February 2011.
B次元官网网址淢ost of the time, we donB次元官网网址檛 hear about the spills B次元官网网址� theyB次元官网网址檙e small, contained and theyB次元官网网址檙e cleaned up well,B次元官网网址� Pollard says. B次元官网网址淭he difference is when you get a spill that leaves a property and heads to the nearest creek. For a period of time (this year) we had a great increase in the number of those spills.B次元官网网址�
And those sorts of spills are likely going to continue, says Victoria-Swan Lake MLA Rob Fleming, who walked the Colquitz with Bos last week to see how the river is doing one year after that first big spill.
B次元官网网址淭hese oil tanks really are just ticking time bombs,B次元官网网址� says Fleming, the NDPB次元官网网址檚 environment critic. B次元官网网址淲hat weB次元官网网址檙e seeing is that where there are areas of provincial responsibility, we have strong laws around enforcing cleanups. But there is a real gap on the prevention side.B次元官网网址�
That statement is loudly echoed by Bos and Pollard, as well as Coun. Vicki Sanders, who chairs SaanichB次元官网网址檚 environmental advisory committee.
Educating homeowners on the risks associated with aging oil tanks and fuel lines is crucial in minimizing the number of these spills, they say.
B次元官网网址淲e know there are probably 9,000 oil tanks in Saanich B次元官网网址� and thatB次元官网网址檚 probably a conservative estimate. WeB次元官网网址檙e seeing no co-operation from insurance or the oil companies to help us find them, because that would make it very simple for us to notify everybody who owns an oil tank B次元官网网址� but thatB次元官网网址檚 not happening,B次元官网网址� Sanders says.
Saanich plans to send out an information sheet on home heating tanks with all municipal water bills in 2013.
B次元官网网址淚 wouldB次元官网网址檝e liked to think this was a bit of an anomaly or a rarity, I wouldB次元官网网址檝e never predicted that these (spills) wouldB次元官网网址檝e continued like they did last year,B次元官网网址� Sanders says. B次元官网网址淗owever it has, and we realize there needs to be real education on heating oil tanks, and that hasnB次元官网网址檛 been done.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e feel that any communication that we can have with landowners is going to be beneficial to the community, and to the municipal use of taxpayersB次元官网网址� money and the environment,B次元官网网址� adds Pollard. B次元官网网址淎nd if we can increase the awareness of residents about their responsibilities, it all helps to complete the picture of keeping the oil where it should be.B次元官网网址�
Even though prior to Nov. 25, 2011, SaanichB次元官网网址檚 spill response procedures were audited and confidence in the plans was deemed high, putting the response into practice multiple times since has allowed municipal crews to improve.
Mike Ippen, manager of public works, says crews have identified and labelled culverts in municipal watersheds, so theyB次元官网网址檙e much easier to locate in the event of a spill. They have also purchased new cleanup equipment.
B次元官网网址�(Oil spill response has) become almost full time for our drainage guys since November B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 not traditionally the case,B次元官网网址� Ippen told the B次元官网网址 in February. B次元官网网址淥ur response is pretty darn quick, but we can always improve.B次元官网网址�
The flip side of education that also needs to improve is what to do in the event of an oil spill, says Laurie Boyle, response officer and emergency planner with the B.C. Ministry of Environment.
B次元官网网址淭iming is critical B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 everything. The sooner and timelier the notification, the quicker weB次元官网网址檙e able to respond to spills,B次元官网网址� Boyle says. B次元官网网址淪aanich has done a good job in response (to the Nov. 25 spill). The posting of phone numbers (along creeks and trails) in the event of pollution observed is so important.B次元官网网址�
For stewards like Bos and Goodwin, itB次元官网网址檚 not important, itB次元官网网址檚 critical. If there were to be another spill B次元官网网址� perish the thought B次元官网网址� timely reporting and a fast response could be a matter of life and death for wildlife now and in the future.
B次元官网网址淚f last yearB次元官网网址檚 salmon run was significantly affected by the oil, we wonB次元官网网址檛 know until 2014,B次元官网网址� Bos says.
This year has been one of the worst at the Colquitz counting fence, as only 108 salmon have returned to the creek to spawn.
Bos doesnB次元官网网址檛 know if thatB次元官网网址檚 attributable to last winterB次元官网网址檚 heating oil spills. It could be predators at the mouth of the river preventing the fish from returning upstream, or something else entirely.
Whatever the reason, the Colquitz, which generally sees strong fish returns, is telling a drastically different story this year than many other salmon-bearing rivers on the south Island.
B次元官网网址淕oldstreamB次元官网网址檚 doing well with coho, ShawniganB次元官网网址檚 doing well, SookeB次元官网网址檚 doing well, VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 doing well at Craigflower, but not at Colquitz,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚t doesnB次元官网网址檛 make natural sense.B次元官网网址� The Craigflower counting fence, as of this week, has seen 850 salmon pass through this season.
In addition to paltry numbers of salmon this year, Bos says he and his fellow stewards have seen no sign of the freshwater shrimp B次元官网网址� a source of food for wildlife in the river B次元官网网址� in the Colquitz this year.
B次元官网网址淚t may be naturally a down year and weB次元官网网址檙e just not seeing any, but these are all important indicators of the health of the creek,B次元官网网址� he says.
Toh, the teacher from Marigold, says seeing nature in action at the Colquitz is hugely beneficial in the studentsB次元官网网址� lesson plan.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been looking at water pollution, storm water management, sustainable fishing, which this presentation has connected to all those issues,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e making strong connections, including putting it in the context of whatB次元官网网址檚 going on the childrenB次元官网网址檚 backyard.B次元官网网址�
Student groups frequently visit the Colquitz counting fence during salmon spawning season, which allows the stewards an opportunity to use these past oil spill events as a lesson in the hopes that history doesnB次元官网网址檛 repeat itself.
B次元官网网址淲e can maybe dodge bullets here and there, but if this keeps happening and we donB次元官网网址檛 have some way of fixing the problem in the long-term, we wonB次元官网网址檛 be able to have our kids take their kids down to the creek and see those salmon and the wildlife there,B次元官网网址� Bos says. B次元官网网址淎nd I donB次元官网网址檛 think anybody wants that to happen.B次元官网网址�
kslavin@saanichnews.com
Did you know?
-Visit to learn what to do in the event of an oil spill. The site features a brochure with tips for owners of home heating tanks to minimize risks of an oil spill.
