The City of Abbotsford revealed that they are continuing to monitor conditions at Stoney Creek, but after a recent rainfall consultants did not observe any impacts to local aquatic life.
A significant spill of firefighting foam occurred at the east Abbotsford creek on July 3, which led to the death of more than 1,000 fish.
During the initial response to the July 3rd spill at Stoney Creek, the City’s environmental consultants, Quantum Murray Environmental rinsed the rocks and banks of Stoney Creek from the point of the spill downstream to remove any residue that may have been left behind. pic.twitter.com/8lMMkDzVKp
— City of Abbotsford (@City_Abbotsford) July 30, 2024
In the days that followed, the City worked with the Ministry of Environment and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as well as local First Nations, and Quantum Murray Environmental to minimize the damage as much as possible.
This work included installing special fencing to restrict access to the area from fish and other waterborne species and reroute fresh water. Fish and other water species will be monitored to further minimize any impact.
Public access to the creek was closed for several days and a water treatment system was set-up to monitor the water quality. The park then fully re-opened, but the monitoring continued.
Part of that work included observing how the creek reacted to the first rainfall since the incident. The City stated on Monday (July 29) that City Operations crews were onsite and observed a small amount of foaming in the creek.
Environmental consultants, along with Semá:th & Mathxwí First Nations, were called to conduct an assessment but did not notice any impacts to local aquatic life.
The City added that foaming can occur in waterways when it rains after a long dry spell. Consultants did obtain water samples for additional testing and more details may be shared in the coming days.
