City of Powell River seeks source of suds in Squatters Creek

Detergent, paint and who knows what else have regularly been seen in Squatters Creek.

Recently, Powell River resident Wayne Brewer saw evidence of what he said he suspected to be car wash or engine detergent washing down the creek.

“Always on a Saturday when government offices are closed,” said Brewer, who has lived creekside for 30 years. “In the past I've seen the suds two metres high.”

But catching the wrongdoers is another matter.

City of Powell River did not receive any reports of the sudsing. Staff was not able to respond and determine where it was coming from or whether it was an industrial operation or residential one, according to city director of infrastructure Tor Birtig.

“Typically we haven't been able to pinpoint anything,” said Birtig. “One time we did find somebody pouring latex paint into a catch basin.”

Squatters Creek takes the outflow from one of the biggest and main catchment areas in Powell River. Birtig said locating the source of pollutants is difficult because it is a wide area with different tributaries and drainage basins running into it.

“It will come in from so many different directions; from the mall, from Duncan Street, from the airport, from Field Street, the old Max Cameron school, town centre, everything in-between all drains down into that one catchment area,” said Birtig.

Normally the city will receive a report of murky water down near the new Canadian Coast Guard Station and access to the sea walk where the creek outlets.

“We'll get a call that there's a plume in the ocean of some colour and then we'll dispatch our crews and they'll start following the creek up and keep on climbing up to see if they can see the source,” said Birtig, adding that the faster city crews get information from the public the quicker the investigation can start to find the source of the material.

Birtig said the city considers Squatters Creek a fish-bearing stream and takes any pollutants in it very seriously.