Topsoil Runoff North Vancouver

Disclaimer:

• Information provided is based on reports received by Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR)
• Information provided is considered to be current at the time of posting, but is subject to change

Incident description

Incident Date	March 6, 2023
Name	DGIR: 230852
Source	Topsoil Runoff
Nearest Community	North Vancouver, B.C.
Spilled Content	Topsoil
Who is involved	Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV), District of North Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Squamish Nation, Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR)

---

Response phase details

The responsible person or spiller is legally required to clean-up or manage the clean-up of a spill.

In incidents where the responsible person is unknown, unable or unwilling to manage the cleanup, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) may assume the role. 

The updates below reflect the ministry’s oversight of the spillers’ actions. Details describe the spill response phase only and not the complete lifecycle of the spill. Visit the 'More information' page for other reports. 

Updates are in reverse chronological order with the most recent at the top.

Industry-specific language may be explained in the Glossary of Terms (PDF, 106KB).

Most recent updates

March 30, 2023

The source of the discharge has been identified as topsoil runoff and not sewage. Results from the March 14 and March 23 Water Quality Sampling of the Capilano River were determined to be within BC Water Quality Guidelines.

The Property Owner is committed to removing the topsoil from the property and undertaking necessary flushing and associated clean up efforts to mitigate the discharge. The Property Owner and their environmental consultants are continuing to monitor and sample the site.

ENV has met with Squamish First Nation and confirmed their concerns have been addressed. Squamish First Nation supports the expectations set for the continued monitoring and sampling of the site.

ENV Response Officers and Recovery staff are continuing to monitor progress.

No further updates are expected.

March 14, 2023

Representatives from the Property Management Group continue to have measures in place to stop further discharge from the outfall pipe into the river. Testing and investigation have taken place on surrounding storm water and septic infrastructure. The source of discharge is still unknown.

The Property Management Group has retained resources to review all testing done to date and to assess environmental impacts. The Property Management Group continues to work with ENV and other local authorities.

Results from water samples collected by ENV are anticipated to be received by the end of the day, March 14. Environmental Emergency Response Officers (EEROs) from ENV plan to visit the site and collect additional water samples today.

EEROs continue to monitor the situation.

Further updates will be made once more information becomes available.

March 12, 2023

An Environmental Emergency Response Officer (EERO) from ENV was onsite with representatives from the Property Management Group, Squamish Nation and District of North Vancouver. Extensive testing has been conducted, however determining the source of the discharge has been challenging. An environmental consultant has been retained and was onsite to mitigate and address the discharge of the product. Additional resources will arrive Monday, March 13, to assess further solutions to dealing with the discharge.

Mitigation and prevention efforts are expected to continue throughout the upcoming week until source of the release can be identified and addressed. The results from samples taken on March 10 are expected early this upcoming week.

March 10, 2023

On March 6, 2023 at approximately 12:45 pm, the District of North Vancouver reported that sewage was leaving a private property and entering the Capilano River via a storm drain outfall pipe. The amount of material released into the river is unknown.

Representatives form the District of North Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Squamish Nation and ENV met onsite to discuss next steps. A plumbing and environmental consultant were onsite, but could not confirm the source of the released sewage in the storm drain network.

Environmental Emergency Response Officers (EEROs) from ENV collected water samples from around the outfall pipe and from the Squamish Nation reserve. The samples from around the outfall pipe were delivered within operational hours to a local analytical lab. The samples from the Squamish Nation reserve will be delivered to the lab Monday, March 13, 2023.