www.saanichnews.com • A25
SAANICH NEWS - Friday, November 23, 2012
Colquitz hit with lacklustre salmon run this year Continued from Page A1
Saanich plans to send out an information sheet on home heating tanks with all municipal water bills in 2013. “I would’ve liked to think this was a bit of an anomaly or a rarity, I would’ve never predicted that these (spills) would’ve continued like they did last year,” Sanders says. “However it has, and we realize there needs to be real education on heating oil tanks, and that hasn’t been done.” “We feel that any communication that we can have with landowners is going to be beneficial to the community, and to the municipal use of taxpayers’ money and the environment,” adds Pollard. “And 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.” Even though prior to Nov. 25, 2011, Saanich’s 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 they’re much easier to locate in the event of a spill. They have also purchased new cleanup equipment.
“(Oil spill response has) become almost full time for our drainage guys since November – that’s not traditionally the case,” Ippen told the News in February. “Our response is pretty darn quick, but we can always improve.” 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. “Timing is critical – it’s everything. The sooner and timelier the notification, the quicker we’re able to respond to spills,” Boyle says. “Saanich 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.” For stewards like Bos and Goodwin, it’s not important, it’s critical. If there were to be another spill – perish the thought – timely reporting and a fast response could be a matter of life and death for wildlife now and in the future. “If last year’s salmon run was significantly affected by the oil, we won’t know until 2014,” 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 doesn’t know if that’s
Sharon Tiffin/News staff
Marigold elementary students watch as volunteer steward Chris Bos measures a coho salmon at Colquitz Creek. attributable to last winter’s 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 salmonbearing rivers on the south Island. “Goldstream’s doing well with coho, Shawnigan’s doing well, Sooke’s doing well, Victoria’s doing well at Craigflower, but not at Colquitz,” he says. “It doesn’t
make natural sense.” 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 – a source of food for wildlife in the river – in the Colquitz this year. “It may be naturally a down year and we’re just not seeing any, but these are all important indicators of the health of the creek,” he says. Toh, the teacher from Marigold, says seeing nature in action at the
Colquitz is hugely beneficial in the students’ lesson plan. “We’ve been looking at water pollution, storm water management, sustainable fishing, which this presentation has connected to all those issues,” she says. “We’re making strong connections, including putting it in the context of what’s going on the children’s backyard.” 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 doesn’t repeat itself. “We can maybe dodge bullets here and there, but if this keeps happening and we don’t have some way of fixing the problem in the long-term, we won’t be able to have our kids take their kids down to the creek and see those salmon and the wildlife there,” Bos says. “And I don’t think anybody wants that to happen.” kslavin@saanichnews.com
Did you know? Visit saanich.ca/services/ utilities/spills.html 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.
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