Dear Editor:
Oh, no! The storm drain cover is clogged.In my neighbourhood of Lynn Valley, I see that excavation at new home sites are pumping out water with mud and silt in varying degrees, and this flows along the street to a storm drain.
The storm drain must have a filter cloth in place as all storm drains flow directly, unfiltered, into a creek. The filter cloth on the storm drain cover will do its job only if it is properly placed and not clogged.Sadly, I see only puddles of sand and mud on top of these storm drains and (at time of writing) it has not rained for 24 hours. When it rains, it gets worse; the mud-and silt-laden water runs down the street and into the creek.
On a sunny day I see, or someone calls me who has seen, muddy water entering Hastings Creek from a storm drain.Solutions to this problem are daunting.Not all building sites neglect the care of the storm drain covers and take the time to clean them, but for those who do not, it takes everyone doing their job, taking care that only clean water goes down the storm drain, which goes directly to salmonbearing Hastings Creek. I see at least four new home sites in just a few blocks.
District workers visit sites and concerned passersby mention the problem to builders, but the messy muddy problems prevail.
Maybe the site owners are not aware that this is happening to their building site. We are losing healthy salmon habitat in Lynn Valley's Hastings CreekWatershed, one new home at a time, through inattention to changing and cleaning the storm drain covers - the very least that should be done.
Jan Lander
North Vancouver
