Photo of water at the bridge adjacent to the hatchery around 10:30 a.m., taken by a hatchery volunteer.
A milky substance was observed in Hoy Creek and was reported to the City of Coquitlam the morning of Tuesday, May 11.
The City provided the following report:
”An investigation and cleanup work was carried out throughout the day to prevent further impacts to the creek. There was also an earlier incident of a surcharging sewer manhole that also impacted the creek on the same day.
At around 8:30 a.m., a sewer manhole was surcharging at Erskine and Brewster. A vactor truck was sent to the site to flush and clean up the area. Around the same time, a report was received regarding a brown, odorous sludge seen in Hoy Creek west of White Pine Place. Engineering staff checked this site shortly after but the creek was running clear by the time they arrived.
At around 10:30 a.m. the City received another report regarding Hoy Creek. A member of the public advised that the water near the hatchery looked milky. Engineering staff inspected the creek from the aquatic complex (CCAC) downstream past the hatchery and observed the creek by the hatchery having a milky colour, but downstream the creek was running clear. They also noted that the fish in the creek were swimming about and did not look like they were impacted.
Further inspection was conducted downstream nearest the south end of Lasalle Place where staff identified a soapy substance at an outfall and observed about 15–20 small dead fish in a tributary of the creek. They tried to trace the source upstream and noticed a strong acidic smell in one of the manholes, so they flushed out the storm main in that area to ensure that the acidic smelling substance did not continue to impact the creek. It was not clear to the attending staff whether this fish kill incident near the south end of Lasalle Place was related to the reported milky substance by the hatchery, and the investigative and cleanup work concluded at around 4 p.m.”
Please be mindful – everything entering a storm drain ends up in a creek. Creeks contain aquatic life that can’t survive pollution being dumped into the habitat. As members of the public, we all have a duty to steward and protect the environment that we live in. Should you witness any suspected pollution being dumped into a storm drain, please take immediate action to report it to the authorities:
City of Coquitlam Engineering 24 hour emergency (Municipal): 604-927-3500
Observe, Record, Report (Federal): 1-800-465-4336
Report all poachers and polluters (Provincial): 1-877-952-RAPP
