Keeping an eye on the creek

By Dan Hilborn
Published Apr. 5, 2006


Life is slowly coming back to Byrne Creek in South Burnaby after a mysterious substance washed down the creek and killed more than 350 cutthroat trout, plus a dozen coho salmon, last month.

Bugs are returning to the upper portions of the water and baby chum salmon - known as fry - are emerging from their eggs in the gravel spawning beds that dot the lower portions of the creek, reports local streamkeeper Paul Cipywnyk.

"Two weeks ago, we started seeing little fry - baby fish - in the creek," he said. "So it appears whatever the toxin was, it did not penetrate below the gravel into the eggs.

"We're really happy to see baby fry. They're hard to count, because they're so small, but we've probably seen 200 of them. Basically, we're pretty pleased to have those little guys show up," Cipywnyk said Monday morning.

The fish finds are the first bit of good news local Streamkeepers have heard since the devastating Feb. 25 fish kill that wiped out virtually all vestiges of life in the upper portions of the most productive salmon-bearing stream in South Burnaby.

Cipywnyk said that some larger cutthroat trout also appear to have survived the toxic spill, most likely as a result of their having been in the creek's tributaries at the time the mysterious substance washed down the creek.

Another promising sign was the sighting of a single coho salmon in the lower portions of the creek, near the Riverway West Golf Course, Cipywnyk said.

News coverage of the fish kill has also prompted several new members to join the local Streamkeepers, and those people are now helping out by joining in the bug counts and the impromptu patrols of the watershed.

Those extra eyes came in handy last week when another potentially devastating event was spotted on the water - a large amount of white suds floating down the creek.

Unlike the earlier event, which resulted in only one phone call to Burnaby city hall's environmental hotline - 604-294-7460 during the day and 604-294-7200 on evenings and weekends - last week's spill resulted in several calls to a variety of officials.

And the revitalization of Byrne Creek is coming at the busiest time of year for the local Streamkeepers, who are preparing for a spring season of cleanup campaigns and fish releases in and around the waterway.

This weekend, the public is invited to learn about the creek as volunteers join the Edmonds Business and Community Association in a cleanup campaign. While much of the the Edmonds Clean Sweep program will focus on the sidewalks and alleys of the neighbourhood, the Streamkeepers will have an information booth set up in the north parking lot of the Edmonds SkyTrain station between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

People willing to get a little more involved will also be given gloves, garbage bags and tongs to pick garbage out of the surrounding ravine, and city work crews will be on hand to help dispose of larger items such as shopping carts and tires.

Meanwhile, Cipywnyk confirmed that it is unlikely anyone will ever know for sure what happened that led to the earlier fish kill.

A formal report prepared by the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers indicates that the unknown toxin most likely entered the water from a street drain, a basement floor drain or parking garage drain somewhere in the residential neighbourhood bounded by 18th Avenue, 18th Street, 10th Avenue, Davis Street, Edmonds and Kingsway.

The toxin could have been almost any deadly substance, including a pesticide, chlorine from a pool or hot tub, concrete wash from a truck or mixer, a concentrated cleaning compound or something else, said the report.

But the Streamkeepers also have other plans to inform their neighbours about the sensitivity of the waterway.

In addition to painting more yellow fish on area storm drains, the Streamkeepers have sent a report to Burnaby city hall that calls for the installation of large educational signs in prominent locations, such as the Edmonds SkyTrain station and around busy streets, and even the creation of a South Slope environmental education centre.

More information will be available during the Edmonds Clean Sweep event on Saturday or from the streamkeepers' website at www.byrnecreek.org.