A Burnaby man is raising concerns about silt runoff from an east Burnaby construction site and the impacts on Silver Creek, the salmon-bearing waterway that took a hit after the Jan. 11 coal train derailment.
On Sunday, May 4, John Preissl was walking around Burnaby Lake when he noticed the waters of Silver Creek had turned a milky colour.
“I knew exactly where it was coming from,” he told the NOW. The 52-year-old carpenter traced the discoloration upstream until he came to the site of an office development in the Production Way area, close to the headwaters of Silver Creek.
According to Preissl, heavy rains are washing silt from the construction site into Silver Creek, and he has photos of the murky waters to back his case. He has also emailed the city about the issue before.
Silt can be harmful because it causes breathing problems for fish and smothers their eggs. Meanwhile, local streamkeepers have spent decades releasing tiny fry in Burnaby’s creeks and streams, trying to bolster the salmon numbers.
Silver Creek’s headwaters are close to the construction site, but the creek flows underground from Eastlake Drive to Government Street and then feeds into Burnaby Lake.
The NOW contacted Chris Ensing, an environmental services officer at the City of Burnaby and one of the people that investigates calls about spills in local waterways.
It’s highly unlikely salmon could make it through the underground passage to the upper reaches, but there may be isolated populations of fish in the headwaters, Ensing said.
According to Ensing, the city was looking into a citrus-smelling chemical, possibly a cleaning agent, and silt in Silver Creek, reported by the crew cleaning up after the Jan. 11 train derailment, which left coal in the lower parts of Silver Creek. The city found the source, which was a business in the area, and spoke to people there, who agreed to make some changes. (Ensing did not want to disclose the name of the business.)
However, Ensing seemed unsure of linking Preissl’s silt reports to the construction site, until the NOW shared his photos with her.
“Definitely the creek shouldn’t be looking like this, so something’s going on,” she said. “It may have come from that construction site.”
Ensing said she would have her colleague look into the matter. The Eastlake construction site has barriers up to protect the creek from silt, but in heavy rains there can still be runoff, which poses risks for the fish downstream.
“They need to be prepared, for these heavy rains because we live in a rainforest,” Ensing said.
Ensing also recommended the public call the city immediately, at 604-294-7460, to report any spills in local creeks, rivers and streams. Environmental services officers need to be alerted as soon as possible by phone in order to track the spill to the source, and phone calls are better than emails, text messages and Tweets, she explained.
