The damage caused from a construction mishap last month along a Stoney Creek tributary doesn’t appear to be as bad as first thought.
The city has been assessing the environmental damage to the creek, and the early indication is the fish habitat will be fine.
James Lota, an assistant engineering director with the City of Burnaby, said the city received a report that found some sediment related to the construction work was transported downstream.
He indicated there were a couple places along the tributary where the sediment was high, noting crews were on scene Tuesday trying to remove as much as they could.
“It looks like the fish habitat is OK,” he told the NOW on Thursday, adding the creek is still passable and can support spawning activity.
“The studies continue to see what we can do more in the short term and in the medium and long term to clean up, but right now it looks OK.”
The city had contractors working to fix a culvert as part of the rehabilitation project this fall, when problems started.
Heavy rains last month forced sediment into a tributary after a bypass pump failed and also washed out a section along Kinder Morgan’s pipeline on Gaglardi Way, leaving it exposed.
Then last week, as work was being completed, a bypass pump failure forced water to topple over the bank and run down Ash Grove Crescent into a housing complex. The water flooded at least one garage.
The sediment issues have kept the local streamkeepers worried about the damage to the local fish habitat along the salmon-bearing stream.
Lota said the city did find dead fish in the creek, but autopsies showed they had already spawned so it would be impossible to tell whether they died of natural causes or from the rehabilitation work.
He noted the city was meeting with the local streamkeepers Thursday to provide an update on the assessment and to get their input.
As for the project, it’s near completion, but crews have reinforced some of the work to be safe with more heavy rains expected during the next few days.
“Everything is holding up as designed as it should,” Lota said.
