As a flow of raw, reeking sewage leaked into the Capilano River for at least a week, a leader from Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) is questioning why the firm managing the adjacent apartment complex wasn’t quicker to respond to the issue.
According to the Ministry of Environment, the District of North Vancouver reported on March 6 that sewage was leaving a private property and entering the river through a storm drain outfall pipe.
“We learned on Friday that … communication with the Woodcroft property managers wasn’t that efficient,” said elected council member Sxwíxwtn (Wilson Williams). “But I think the most important thing to us, Squamish Nation, is that we wanted to get the sewage leak mitigated.”
The Woodcroft Estates apartments are in North Vancouver, while most of the affected waterway area falls within the Capilano 5 Reserve. Property management company Wynford Group said it became aware of the leak March 7 and notified the ministry and local governments immediately. Contractors were promptly dispatched, with engineers working to identify the source and implement repairs if the source is identified to be within the Woodford complex, Wynford said.
As of Monday morning, the leak had been contained. A plumbing company had two large tanker trucks onsite to vacuum up the sewage, preventing it from flowing into the nearby river. And a wall of sandbags had been constructed around the leak site to contain any excess runoff. The exact cause of the leak isn’t yet clear.
An environmental emergency response officer from the Ministry of Environment was onsite Monday with representatives from Squamish Nation, District of North Vancouver and property manager Wynford Group.
“Extensive testing has been conducted, however determining the source of the discharge has been challenging,” reads a statement from the ministry. “An environmental consultant has been retained and was onsite to mitigate and address the discharge of the product.”
The ministry said additional resources have arrived to assess further solutions to deal with the leak, and that mitigation and prevention efforts are expected to continue through the week until the source can be identified and addressed. Results from samples taken on Friday are expected to be available soon.
The issue is something that the provincial government takes “very, very seriously,” Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth told reporters on Monday, adding that the cleanup is to be done quickly.
Farnworth said a full analysis will be conducted to find out how it happened and to ensure “that there is as little damage as possible to fish stocks in the Capilano River, and also to see if there is additional steps that might be required to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again.”
'Not a place you want to be'
Williams – who first visited the site on Friday, and was there over the weekend and on Monday – said it’s a little more bearable to be in the area, now that the leak, and smell, are contained.
“It was not a place you want to be, or have your family or anybody be,” he said.
Williams said representatives from Wynford Group were still asking on Sunday if it was certain the leak was coming from the Woodcroft apartment complex.
“I don’t think that’s a question you should be asking the District of North Van, or the ministry, or the Squamish Nation,” Williams said. “It didn’t seem like it was a priority to clean it up for them at the forefront.”
On top of addressing the leak itself, he added that the priority should have been making sure the public and nearby residents were aware of the situation and possible health and safety risks, “because raw sewage isn’t healthy for anybody.”
But Williams said the property management company is now co-operating, and working with all the other parties to assess and solve the problem. Wynford Group oversees the Woodcroft Estates apartment complex, which includes the 2020 Fullerton Ave. property, which has been identified in the Ministry of Environment’s file on the leak.
In a statement to Woodcroft residents shared with the North Shore News, Wynford said it became aware of “a sewage leak mixed with regular storm outflow” last Tuesday.
“Contractors immediately attended and began work to locate the source of the problem,” reads the statement. “Site tests have been conducted daily, including dye testing of the various plumbing lines. At this time, there is still no clear connection between any of the sanitary lines connected to the Woodcroft Estates buildings.”
Camera testing identified some cracks and small holes in the sanitary pipes, “but it does not appear that those cracks or holes are responsible for the leak,” Wynford said.
“Engineers are reviewing the situation and will provide input to identify the source of the leak and implement repair plans (if the source is identified as a building within Woodcroft Estates).”
Wynford also told the News that recent work on the Woodcroft property conducted by Milani Plumbing was not related to the leak.
Regardless of liability, the contamination from this incident could have a damaging impact on the local fish population. North Shore Streamkeepers president Keegan Casidy said the immediate concern is the emergence of newly hatched chum salmon fry, which is happening right now.
“Chances are there’s going to be totally negative impacts,” he said. “We could see some fish kills here for sure.”
Wilson said harm to the salmon is “a deep concern, both personally and professionally – growing up along the river and coming from generations of fishermen from our community.”
Squamish Nation will be bringing in professional consultants to assess the immediate impact on the salmon and surrounding environment, while looking at longer-term solutions and general sustainability.
“These developments along rivers impact the salmon lifecycle because it impedes on spawning beds,” he said.
Wilson said Squamish Nation has a legal team looking at the issue, but isn’t sure how it will proceed yet.
