The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has expanded the shellfish closure zone around Wakefield Creek in Trail Bay.
According to a DFO notice there was a “raw sewage bypass” of between 600 and 900 litres on Nov. 29 due to a faulty lift station at Wakefield Creek.
DFO already had a seasonal closure in effect for the mouth of Wakefield Creek, which it extended to 500 metres as a result of the spill.
“Effluent plume modelling suggests that the water quality beyond this closure boundary may be affected to the point where acceptable water quality standards of the CSSP (Canadian Shellfish Sanitation Program) have been exceeded,” the notice reads. “Given that overlay waters are a pathway by which pathogenic micro-organisms and other contaminants may be introduced into shellfish, ECCC concludes that the degree of contamination of the water may pose a risk to public health if shellfish in the area were harvested for consumption.”
The District of Sechelt said in a statement Nov. 30 that the lift station is operating on one pump while parts are shipped to repair the second pump and a vacuum truck is on standby in case of another breach.
Heavy rains resulting in higher than normal volume passing through the station is the likely reason for the overflow, the statement said. It is not known how much of the overflow went into the ocean.
Christine Miller, supervisor, Water Resource Centre said, “we had a perfect storm of events with heavy rain and equipment failure but staff responded quickly and effectively to contain the overflow as much as possible and immediately reported to the proper authorities.”
DFO officials said they plan to keep the closure in place for at least 21 days.
