Hatchery tour provided to Communities in Bloom judges

Left to right: Maya Uno of Hoy-Scott Watershed Society, Jim Baird and Evelyn Alemanni of Communities in Bloom. 

Hoy Creek Hatchery was once again a point of interest for visiting judges of the Communities in Bloom competition.  

"Communities in Bloom - Collectivités en fleurs is about greening through environmental, natural heritage conservation and horticultural actions that involve citizens, businesses, institutions, and municipalities.  The program is focused on environmental stewardship through enhancement of green spaces."

On July 19 Jim Baird (USA) and Evelyn Alemanni (USA) spent a busy day visiting City parks and locations and the salmon hatchery is one of the key places in the city that exemplify their ethos.

Leading the tour for the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society was Maya Uno, a City of Coquitlam environmental award recipient.

HSWS member and environtmental award recipient, Maya Uno at Hoy Creek Hatchery. 

Spill reported in Hoy Creek on June 3

Suspected paint in Hoy Creek on June 3 (Photo: Arno Hazebroek)

On June 3, 2017, one of our members was alerted of a spill in Hoy Creek. It was a Saturday evening before 6pm.

The spill was reported immediately to the authorities and our member also went to review the situation and took the photos seen here. It appeared to be white paint.  Hoping to soak up the paint he placed white boards across the spill area.

While we cannot be 100 percent certain, a storm drain by the trail near Walton Ave did have a white substance on it.  He also took a photo of that.

The water in the Capilano trough at the hatchery was white, but the fish were behaving normally. The PH level of the water was between 7-8.

Hoy Creek after a spill on June 3 (Photo: Arno Hazebroek / HSWS)

The City of Coquitlam reported back to Hoy-Creek Watershed Society that:

June 3 - Staff attended, put out three booms at first outfall behind 2978 Walton along the trail.  Minimal flow entering creek, but it is milky coming out of outfall.  Suspect latex paint.  Checked upstream manholes and area, could not find any source.  C/B's are also full of white cotton hindering ability to see clearly into them.  Upon return to outfall, water appeared to be running more clear, so it was dissipating out, spoke with some people in area and asked if they knew of anyone doing any construction/painting in area, no luck.
 
June 3- 20:30 - another call received, caller said at the beginning of his walk this evening, the creek looked somewhat contaminated, not too noticeable.  Within the last 30 minutes, he said it has gotten 10x worse and is almost white.

Staff informed, and will attend again.  Staff reported state of creek has improved since last time at site.
 
June 4 - Booms collecting milky substance still in place.  Someone has placed plywood across the creek to dam it to collect substance, may want to remove this. Checked upstream m/h and c/b's, everything looks ok.
 
Environmental Services and Worksite Bylaw Officers were out on June 4 investigating the catch basins on White Pine Place cul-de-sac.

Unfortunately the source or culprits were not found.

If you see a spill in either Hoy or Scott Creek please call the City of Coquitlam - Municipality’s 24 hour reporting line (604) 927-3500.

Coho fry swimming in the Capilano trough at Hoy Creek Hatchery after the spill (Photo: Arno Hazebroek)

Suspect storm drain with white substance near trail by Walton Avenue (Photo: Arno Hazebroek)