Water quality advisory signs are being posted in the False Creek area of downtown Vancouver after a sewage spill was reported Friday.
False Creek is popular with recreational boaters, including kayakers and rowers, but it is not a swimming area.
On Friday, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) directed the City of Vancouver to post a number of signs along the waterway advising the public to refrain from using the water or take extra precautions to avoid contact with the water.
"My understanding is that a sizeable amount of sewage may have entered the water today over several hours, although we will not have the coliform counts to confirm this until Sunday," said Brian Johnston, Environmental Health Officer at VCH.
The waterway affected is from Science World to the Burrard Bridge.
City of Vancouver and Metro Vancouver staff were involved in locating the source of the sewage spill today and took steps to remedy the problem.
Coliform sampling will be done over the weekend. The advisory will be in effect until at least Tuesday.
International recreational water guidelines state that the swimming standard for coliform counts is 200 per 100 mls of water, and secondary recreational use (e.g. boating) is five times the swimming standard or 1,000. The standards are different because there is lower risk associated with getting splashed or sprayed as opposed to being immersed in water when swimming.
Last month, advisory signs were posted in East False Creek because of high coliform counts. The source of the contamination was found and corrected. The advisory signs came down after six days when coliform counts dropped to within international guideline numbers.
