Smiling Creek gets a clean-up
A clean-up crew scoured a drain pipe and a portion of Smiling Creek on Burke Mountain Tuesday to get rid of cement water wash that had been hosed down a storm drain the previous week.
A contractor building two houses on Roxton Avenue where the cement water wash originated was responsible for the cleanup and will also have to pay a $500 fine or breaking the Coquitlam's Prohibited Discharge bylaw.
The material flowed into pools with standing water that contained coho fry and the fish died.
McRae Environmental showed up with a big vacuum truck and cleaned out the entire length of pipe, plus the contaminated areas of the creek were vacuumed and power-washed, according to Joan Pettie who was on the scene.
Pettie was the first person to call attention to the contamination problem. She spotted the material flowing into the creek while walking her dog.
According to the city of Coquitlam, a bylaw officer was on hand Wednesday to make sure the clean up work was done appropriately.
dstrandberg@tricitynews.com
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