The race is on to contain the pollutant already in the stream — and to find the source before it contaminates more of the waterway.
A “mystery substance” that looks and smells like fuel is fouling the fragile waters of Bowker Creek.
And now the race is on to contain the pollutant already in the stream — and to find the source before it contaminates more of the waterway.
Sacha Veelbehr, who lives on Bowker Avenue, first noticed a rainbow-like sheen on the water on Tuesday morning and again in the evening, in the area where the creek meanders past the recreation centre.
She said there was a strong odour of fuel. Her photographs showed the oily substance moving in the shallow areas of the stream.
“You could really see it, and the smell was very noticeable,” Veelbehr said.
Oak Bay municipal crews have been laying absorbent booms and pads at various points along the creek within the municipality, swapping them out on Wednesday for fresh ones.
Oak Bay spokeswoman Hayley Goodgrove said samples of the substance have been sent to the Capital Regional District for testing, and the municipality is collaborating with the Ministry of Environment on a response to contain the spill.
Oak Bay was using its vacuum truck to skim some of the pollutants from the surface.
The source of the leak has not yet been determined, but Oak Bay said it doesn’t originate from within its borders.
Goodgrove said municipal crews have monitored Bowker Creek from the Victoria border near Foul Bay Road to where the waterway spills into the ocean near Oak Bay Marina, and there is no sign of any fuel source.
That might mean the source of the substance is in Victoria or Saanich. Officials say it’s too early to tell if it was from a leak, such as from a home-heating fuel tank, was dumped directly into the stream or came in through a storm drain.
Bowker Creek is an eight-kilometre-long urban waterway that begins in springs and underground gravel beds that collect winter rains at the University of Victoria and flows through Saanich, Victoria and Oak Bay. About 60% of the creek flows through large underground culverts, but small stretches through each municipality flow on the surface.
Creek observers say the mystery substance’s smell is similar to creosote or paint thinner, and noted in some sections, the waters were muddied brown.
There is a concern for wildlife that use the waterway, including waterfowl, birds and other aquatic life.
Goodgrove said crews were laying out booms at four locations, including Hampshire, Monterey, Monteith and Beach Drive. She said that as of Wednesday, the substance had not yet reached the ocean.
The portion of the creek that spills into the ocean near Oak Bay Marina has been carefully prepared for years for the return of chum salmon, which haven’t been seen in Bowker Creek since major diversions of the flow began in 1914.
Bowker Creek has been populated for the past four years with incubated chum salmon, and conservationists have been keenly hoping for the first chum to return and spawn.
Thousands of chum salmon have been hatched in the creek using specialized stainless steel incubators. The eggs were supplied by the Goldstream River Hatchery.
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