Amica Jubilee House has launched an investigation into a fuel leak the City of Victoria said contaminated Bowker Creek earlier this month.
"While the investigation into the cause and impact of the spill at Amica is ongoing, Amica remains committed to supporting the city in its investigation and cleanup efforts," said Liam Brown, the facility's general manager. "Once we better understand the underlying cause of this incident, we can review and update our existing protocols."
Ian Graeme, the co-chair of Friends of Bowker Creek Society (FoBC), a non-profit dedicated to the restoration and enhancement of the waterway, explained this has been “the most serious spill incident over at least the past 25 years.”
“This is a significant spill and is discouraging for the community who is deeply committed to restoring the creek as a functional, thriving system,” he added.
During a routine building-safety walk-through at approximately 6 a.m. on July 8, an Amica concierge noticed a puddle of diesel on the building’s roof – fuel normally housed in two tanks that feed the facility's generator, one of which is located atop the six-storey building.
Later that morning, fuel was identified downstream of the seniors' home in Oak Bay's stretch of the waterway, near the Oak Bay Rec Centre on Bee Street.
“Following our safety and environmental procedures, we immediately informed the Ministry of Environment and brought in emergency management specialists to initiate immediate removal and cleanup,” said Brown. "This preliminary assessment determined that the building was safe, and no evacuation was required."
The facility has yet to confirm the cause of the leak. It’s also awaiting the results of an environmental assessment into the spill's effect on the property, as well as the surrounding area. But only time will tell how the diesel leak will affect the life the waterway boasts.
Over the years, the FoBC has worked to repopulate the Bowker Creek with chum. Though there are currently no eggs in its stretches, some adult salmon incubated in March could potentially arrive to spawn this fall – as early as late September.
“Diesel fuel is known to be acutely toxic to invertebrates and fish,” said Graeme. “If and when the adult chum arrive, we are hopeful that they will not be affected by this incident.”
The co-chair added FoBC couldn't comment on how exactly the spill might impact the waterway. He did, however, emphasize Bowker Creek's importance for both the species it contains and its surrounding environment.
“Everyone – individuals, businesses, local and senior governments and community groups – all have a responsibility to protect and improve it,” he said. “It helps to mitigate negative climate change in our community by providing water for the surrounding vegetation and habitat for wildlife, including salmon. The vegetation surrounding the creek, in turn, provides shade and filters and cleans water draining onto the land. Vegetation also ... recycles water into our atmosphere to reduce drought.”
On July 14, Victoria media spokesperson Colleen Mycroft explained crews were on-site maintaining and swapping out fuel-soaked booms, while others were cleaning the drains the diesel flowed through. The leak has been contained, she added, and no further spills have been identified.
