Kisscafe

Out of Sight, Out of Mind?

Beautiful Victoria....? There is little doubt that Victoria, B.C. is a beautiful city. In fact, Victoria’s largest industry, tourism, is fuelled by the charm and natural aesthetic allure of the city. The green landscape, grassy knolls, over abundance of flowers, and frolicking marine life shown on postcards and in tourism brochures really do seem to exist in the capital city of “Beautiful British Columbia”. But despite her squeaky clean image, Victoria may be living a dirty secret life. The issue here is Victoria’s difficulty with waste management treatment. That is, there is none. This means there is nearly 130 million litres of raw sewage a day being pumped directly into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. With the focus on the state of the environment growing more and more every day, concerned residents and neighbours see the necessity for an intervention to help Victoria change her self-destructive ways.

Unfortunately, merely releasing waste into the water and watching it drift out of sight is not an effective method of waste management. Where does it go? Lots of places- it stays in the water, is evaporated and released into the air, ingested by marine life and brought back up the food chain, and sent south to Victoria’s American neighbours. The Juan de Fuca Strait, where the untreated sewage is being released, is the body of water between Victoria and Washington State. For Washington State residents, Victoria’s loss is their unwanted gain.

Back in 1993, BC Premier Harcourt and Washington Governor Lowry signed an agreement that would implement primary sewage treatment methods by 2002, followed by an upgrade to secondary treatment in 2008. Primary sewage treatment (the most basic method) removes, ahem, “solids”, while secondary treatment can help reduce or remove some of the many toxic chemicals found in sewage. In 2003, however, this commitment was contradicted in favour of the 25 year Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP), a decision approved by the B.C. government. Unlike the agreement signed with Washington State, the LWMP gave Victoria continued rein to keep pumping raw sewage into the ocean.

Victoria’s LWMP relies on an “environmental trigger” to reveal if and when treatment is “necessary”. The goal is to implement treatment three years after the trigger goes off. But what happens between the trigger and the beginning of treatment? After three years, if the rate of waste production does not increase (despite with the upcoming 2010 Olympics in neighbouring Vancouver) that’s over another 47.5 billion litres of raw sewage being released into the ocean, in addition to the impact that would have on the environment and marine life.

The hazardous pollution does not only come from rising fecal coliform levels and the presence of bacteria and diseases such as Hepatitis, but also from the chemicals that are flushed through people’s drains. Rain and storm water runoff brings chemicals like motor oil, paint thinner, nail polish remover, among many others, directly into the ocean. Organochlorines (toxic chemicals like chlorine and sodium hypochlorite) are known to cause cancers, birth defects, and damage to reproductive, hormonal, and immune systems, as well as harm to water, soil and sediments. Heavy metals, pathogens, PCBs, Hydrocarbons, are among other scary and highly dangerous materials that seep into ocean water, while carbon dioxide and methane (greenhouse gases) are released into the atmosphere by waste.

Whale watching is one of the most popular tourist activities in Victoria. However, due in part to the chemicals and toxins polluting the local waters, killer whales are now an endangered species in Canada, not to mention several other whale, dolphin, and fish species. Toxins consumed by plants and smaller marine life are carried up through the food chain, exposing larger animals to huge, magnified amounts of ingested chemicals. A recent study showed that toxin levels were so high that fish exposed to Victoria’s effluent could only survive for about 20 minutes, in comparison to the over 96 hours they could live in pulp mill effluent. Further evidence of the level of pollution in this area is provided by the shellfish harvesting ban that exists for the 40 square kilometres around the outfalls. Kayakers, windsurfers, sport fishermen, and other people that use the waters around the outfalls also face significant health risks.

Continuation of these practices not only increases health risks and further damages the environment, but also threatens Victoria’s economy and reputation. In 1993, disgusted Washington State residents decided to boycott tourism in Victoria. The boycott ended with Victoria’s false pledge to begin treating sewage. Particularly with the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver quickly approaching, Victoria is under pressure to finally make good on their promise to implement change. Not surprisingly, the largest obstacle is cost. The bill for new treatment facilities would reach into the hundreds of millions of dollars, payment that the provincial government wants to avoid. Recently, however, the federal government committed to supporting 1/3 of the roughly $200 million bill for a new sewage plant, if the municipal and provincial governments would also cover 1/3 each. Unfortunately, the B.C. Government was still resistant, and would not agree to cover their portion of the cost.

That is, until a few months ago. On July 21, 2006 BC Minister of Environment Barry Penner ordered the CRD (Capital Regional District) to develop an in depth plan to implement sewage treatment by June 30, 2007. Environmental groups are applauding Penner for encouraging the development of new and innovative technologies, and pushing fro secondary sewage treatments to be in place by 2010. Christianne Wilhelmson, Program Coordinator of the Georgia Strait Alliance said that, “after decades of polluting the marine environment with untreated sewage, this is a significant step forward in protecting the health of our marine environment."

Unfortunately, the same steps have not been taken to encourage the much needed secondary treatment plans for the nearby GVRD (Greater Vancouver Regional District) facilities at Lions Gate and Iona Beach. As Wilhelmson states, “At present, the GVRD refuses to remove from its sewage the same toxic substances which have turned Greater Victoria’s sewage outfalls into confirmed contaminated sites,” putting Burrard inlet at a similar risk. At the beginning of August of 2006, private prosecution was brought forward by environmental groups and commercial fishermen against the province of British Columbia and the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Despite warnings from the federal government and frequently failing toxicity tests under the Fisheries Act, the area’s sewage plants continue to dump gallons of toxic sewage into the ocean. Particularly with the upcoming Olympic Games in 2010 in Vancouver, the need for adequate sewage treatment is immediate.

Until any changes are seriously implemented, small, everyday efforts can have a significant impact. The release of chemicals is causing much of the environmental and marine life damage. A reduction in the use of chemicals such as Draino, nail polish remover, paint thinner, or any other toxic substance, would decrease the amount of chemicals released back into the system. Opting for biodegradable or non-toxic products over those that use chemicals would also significantly reduce the amount of harmful substances. In addition to cutting down the amount of chemicals being released into the ocean, reducing the amount of water used every day would bring down the volume of sewage. Simply put: the less that is used, the less that needs to be thrown away.

While for now, ‘out of sight, out of mind’ may ring true for Victoria and Vancouver, the consequences of sweeping waste management issues under the rug are coming to the surface. The effects will have, and already have had, an immediate impact on the residents of British Columbia (fishermen, water sports enthusiasts, and those in the tourism industry), the environment, and the residents of Washington State. Thankfully, the BC government has finally realized that the time to implement change has arrived, and is beginning to take the necessary steps to introduce primary treatment. Hopefully with everyday efforts and the coming treatment plan, we can help restore both Vancouver and Victoria’s tarnished and muddy reputations.

Despite the picturesque landscape and postcard perfect image, Victoria does have a dark side. Bathroom talk is never a glamorous issue, and one that is often avoided in everyday conversation. As a result, there was relatively little being said and done about BC’s filthy sewage habits. As proven by action being taken in Victoria, public desire can create change. Hopefully Vancouver will soon follow Victoria’s lead and introduce plans for secondary treatment. At the very least, we can get past our reservations and begin discussing the problems and potential solutions. Unfortunately for Victoria (but fortunately for the rest of us), her dirty little secret is out.

Sources and More Information

www.georgiastraitalliance.org

www.davidsuzuki.org

www.sierralegal.org

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