Category Archives: The River

Tanker Traffic, Pipelines, and Oil Spills

Posted on December 8, 2011 by admin| Leave a comment

The Fraser River is constantly under threat of oil spills, pipeline construction, and increased tanker traffic due to oil sands transport. For a backgrounder on oil sands production, read part of this Great Bear Rainforest series. The upper Fraser River system would be affected by Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project’s twin pipelines that would be laid over 1,000 salmon-bearing streams and rivers. 525,000 barrels a day of crude oil would be shipped from Alberta to Kitimat, BC, resulting in 225 oil tankers a year on BC’s northern coast, at the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Most First Nations in BC are opposed to pipelines and tankers on their land, and many signed the Save the Fraser Declaration in early December 2011.

Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline is another threat. This pipeline project recently was approved by the National Energy Board (NEB), and will increase tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet by 25,000 barrels a day. According to the Pacific Free Press, the decision came on the same day the First Nations declared a ban on tar sands oil exports through their lands and coastal waters. Eight mayors in BC were also outraged at this approval, because while they had asked NEB to have public hearings, no coastal communities were consulted. This expansion will also add 2.4 million barrels of storage capacity at the Edmonton terminal. Kinder Morgan bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline in 2005. It burst in 2007, and the oil has not all been cleaned up.

Both projects will bring more tankers into the Vancouver harbor and up and down the coastline, affecting salmon and other fish migratory routes and increasing the potential for deadly oil spills and leaks.

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Posted in Tanker Traffic, Pipelines, and Oil Spills

Aquaculture

Posted on August 10, 2010 by admin| Leave a comment

Aquaculture, or commercial/non-commercial salmon farming, has had a great impact on Fraser River. Several organizations and biologists claim that salmon farming located along west Coast of BC are responsible for the dramatic decrease of wild sockeye salmon in the Fraser River in 2009. Salmon farming not only poses an impact on wild salmon themselves but also on water quality and human health.

Impact of aquaculture on wild fish habitat

Sea lice

The high concentration of farmed salmon promotes the development and frequent occurrence of sea lice. Sea lice are parasites that occur naturally in low numbers in the water habitat. In the natural marine and freshwater environment, sea lice attach onto the adult salmon and feed on mucous and skin. They do not damage or physically harm the adult fish; however, with the establishment of commercial salmon farming, sea lice parasites on juvenile salmon pose a great threat or even death to the young fish.

The juvenile salmon become infested with sea lice during their passage along salmon farming areas on their journey back to the Fraser River. The sea lice infestation is therefore considered a major suspect in decline of Fraser River sockeye in 2009.

Fish escaping and cross-breeding

The farmed salmon are not native to BC; they are mostly Atlantic species. The farmed salmon are held in open cages, or net-pens. The torn or damaged pens provide an easy escape route for the farmed salmon and their entry to the wild fish habitat. The escaped fish compete with wild salmon over food and shelters, transfer diseases and pathogens, and also interbreed with them.

Impact of aquaculture on water quality

Aquaculture has negative impact on the quality of water. A high concentration of fish in the net-pen results in the occurrence of pathogens and diseases. To prevent this, farmed fish are fed with antibiotics and pesticides to prevent the spread of these diseases and pathogens. Chemical residues from uneaten food and fish faeces contaminate the ocean floor and the water in the direct vicinity of the farms. The waste can be carried away by the ocean current and cause pollution in other marine and fresh water ecosystems.

Impact of aquaculture on human health

From the human perspective, the salmon farm poses a direct threat to human by ingestion. The threat to human health rests in the high amount of pesticides, antibiotics residue, and food additives (to color grey fish meat to pink). Frequent ingestion of farmed fish can pose health risks, including cancer and resistance to antibiotics.

Salmon farm map and locations

The following links provide information on current salmon farms and locations:

http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/fisheries/licences/cabinet/detailed_mw_farm_sites.pdf

http://historic.wildernesscommittee.org/wildpacific/salmon_farms/maps/bc_fishfarm_map.jpg

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Posted in Aquaculture

Pulp and paper mills

Posted on August 10, 2010 by admin| Leave a comment

Pulp and paper mills are present throughout the upper and lower Fraser Valley, and comprise a significant industry in Upper Fraser towns. Their presence provides a source of employment, but there are some environmental impacts associated with pulp and paper mills, depending on the type of processes that they use.

A pulp mill is the first part of the process in manufacturing paper and tissue. It converts wood chips and other plant material into a thick board, which is then sent to a paper mill for further processing. The pulp can be bleached or unbleached. There are two types of pulp mills: chemical and mechanical.

A mechanical pulp mill uses a large amount of energy and manufactured stones to grind the plant material into a pulp. A chemical pulp mill uses a process called Kraft that uses chemicals such as sodium hydroxide and sodium sulphide to break down the plant/wood material to a refined pulp.

This pulp is generally stronger than other pulp produced by the mechanical process. The pulp may be bleached using another chemical process. To brighten the pulp, a one modern technique called Elemental Chlorine Free uses chlorine dioxide as opposed to elemental chlorine; other techniques such as Total Chlorine Free do not use chlorine .

Paper mills can be at the same location as a pulp mill and use large amounts of water, energy and wood pulp to produce paper.

Environmental Impacts

There are some environmental impacts resulting from pulp and paper mills that are pertinent to the Fraser River. Many chemicals may be used in the pulp process, such as toxic solvents, biocides that act to prevent bacterial growth in the pulp, and oxygen-consuming substances. These chemicals, if not properly treated, can be part of effluent that ends up in surrounding waterways that could, in turn, affect migrating salmon.

Detailed information on the National Pollution Release Inventories to air, water, and land for different industries can be located on the Environment Canada website (http://www.ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/default.asp?lang=en).

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Posted in Pulp and Paper Mills

Global Warming

Posted on October 22, 2009 by admin| Leave a comment

“Because Fraser river salmon are so temperature dependent, global warming is a threat to their very existence.”

- Doug Chapman

Climate change is the change in weather patterns that a specific region encounters. Globally, the rate of temperature is regulated by the system known as the “greenhouse effect”. During this process, radiation can pass through, but the heat is not able to escape. The balance of this natural system has been disrupted by human activities. The more advanced and mechanized human lifestyle becomes, the more production of these gases and hence the increased warming trend all around the globe.

NASA, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and other organizations’ climate models show warming in the past several years in British Columbia’s Fraser River, with a continued warming trend predicted for the future. This warming is caused by higher and higher carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere, which is the result of the burning of fossil fuels and other anthropogenic factors, including deforestation.

According to Riverkeeper Doug Chapman: “At times, Burrard Inlet already has depleted dissolved oxygen problems because of the huge volumes of improperly treated sewage being discharged daily by Metro Vancouver from its Lions Gate and Iona sewage treatment plants.”

As the temperature increases, the solubility of oxygen in water reduces. This reduction in dissolved oxygen (DO) threatens fish, amphibians, and cocopods. Less DO causes increased metabolic rates, which can result in faster depletion of food sources and potentially more competition among more adaptive marine life, some of which may be invasive. Fish may become smaller, more susceptible to disease, and malnourished.
Higher water temperatures also increase plant life, which can cause algae bloom, which further reduces oxygen in the water.
The Fraser, currently predominantly a snow-melt river, could become a rain-dominated river, which would cause a change in elevation and flow, with a higher flow in the summer and fall. Any climate change like this will alter how fish reproduce, migrate, and survive.
Water temperatures above 19-20° C are dangerous for salmon and other fish, degrading spawning rates, causing thermal shock, and becoming fatal at around 24° C. Changes in 1-2° C can produce significant cellular changes that are detrimental to cell walls, proteins, and enzyme metabolism.
Global warming causes changing precipitation patterns, increasing evaporation, melting glaciers, and droughts and floods to become more frequent and intense

Any or all of these factors do and would affect the Fraser River and surrounding wetlands. Any unbalance as such would threaten fish and other wildlife on the Fraser. Already, many rivers in the world have been altered by global warming.

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Posted in Climate Change

Industrial Wastewater

Posted on July 14, 2009 by admin| Comments Off

There are many industries located along the Fraser River and other waterways around metro-Vancouver such as pulp mills, mining operations, industrial plants (food, wood product, and manufacturing), and oil refineries. The pulp paper industry forms toxic by-products from its industrial activities such as chlorine bleaching and industrial inceration. Examples of these by-products include dioxins and furans, and are known to suppress the immune system function, damage the liver, and bioaccumulate in fish and shellfish, leading to human health risks if consumed.

The lumber industry uses highly toxic chemicals, called antisapstains, which help protect wood from the discoloration caused by fungi and mould. The chemicals can end up in the Fraser River as a result of spills into storm sewers or being washed off treated wood in a rainstorm.

For more information, see BC’s Marine Environment’s Industrial Contaminants paper.

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Posted in Industrial Wastewater

Agriculture

Posted on July 14, 2009 by admin| Comments Off

Agricultural run-off is a concern for the Fraser River and its watershed, and can cause short-term, long-term, and cumulative impacts. Agricultural runoff is a non-point source of pollution and can come from various different sources in different locations. The run-off can consist of pesticides, insecticides, fertilisers, and animal manure — and can enter the runoff through atmospheric deposition, irrigation, and crop residues. These biological and chemical substances can be high in nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, pathogens, and a range of other chemical compounds. A rapid growth in agribusiness along the Fraser River has led to increased pesticide and fertiliser use and farm animal intensities, especially in the Lower Fraser Valley.

Rapid urbanisation in the Lower Fraser Valley has also affected the quality of the Fraser River and its tributaries. Increased infrastructure such as transportation routes and traffic has led to increased surface run-off of pollutants such as hydrocarbons and road-building substances. New development pressures metastasize as the vibrant Vancouver region draws more residents and more economic activity. The Greater Vancouver Regional District now houses more than 2.1 million people. It is expected that in the coming 20 years the population will increase by another 50%.

This growth has detrimental consequences on the watershed due to both the development of surfaces, which exacerbates storm water run-off, and combined sewerage outfalls. There are increased demands upon already inadequate sewage treatment infrastructures and increased indiscriminate waste disposal adjacent to and into the Fraser River and its tributaries. All of these issues can result in surface and groundwater contamination and detrimental longer-term impacts on the biodiversity of the Fraser River Basin.

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Posted in Agriculture

Municipal Wastewater

Posted on July 14, 2009 by admin| Comments Off

Sewage pollution from outdated onsite and municipal sewage treatment facilitates are the main contributors to municipal pollution in the Georgia Strait, Burrard Inlet, and Fraser River. In metropolitan Vancouver and the increasingly populated Fraser Valley, municipal sewage pollution contains a large number of toxic substances such as pathogens (bacteria and viruses); nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are also a problem. Increased nutrients in the water can lead to excessive plant growth (such as blue-green algae).

When sewage material decays and algal material grows, they take up oxygen in the water, which is exasperated in the warmer summer months. This process reduces the amount of oxygen available to marine invertebrates and fish at high discharge rates.

Municipal sewage waste can also create potential health risks for recreational users of the waterways. Polychlorinated byphenols (PCBs) were banned from production in the 1970s but are still found in the bottom layers of sediment and can be discharged back to the air. PCBs can affect the neurological, immune, and reproductive systems of mammals and also are known to cause cancers.

The Iona wastewater treatment plant is located in the city of Richmond, just north of Vancouver International Airport. It serves a large portion of the metropolitan Vancouver population. It provides only primary sewage treatment before disposing the effluent in a deep-sea outfall in the Georgia strait. Both the Iona and the Lionsgate treatment facilities require urgent upgrades (see Ottowa Riverkeeper and Eco-Justice).

Also, approximately 150,000m3 of sewage effluent is discharged into the Fraser River Basin from sewage treatment plants located upstream from the town of Langley, close to the mouth of the river. The Hope treatment plant located upstream has only primary, not secondary, treatment of the sewage.

Resources:

Metro sewage plants failing federal test

Hidden killer: Sewage from Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria is Georgia Straight’s number one pollution threat

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Posted in Municipal Wastewater

Urban Wastewater

Posted on July 14, 2009 by admin| Comments Off

Water pollution in the Fraser River has many sources. Resource-based economic activities located close to the Fraser River include agriculture, mining, logging, and hydroelectric developments. Water quality in the river can be degraded because of these industrial activities, municipal and urban waste water, and individual polluters. Poor water quality affects the habitat of the flora and fauna in the river, and certain pollutants can cause cumulative effects such as pollutant bio-magnification. Excessive nutrient build-up in the river can lead to eutrophication, where bacteria feeding on organic material can significantly reduce the oxygen content of the water and essentially suffocate fish and other fauna.

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Posted in Urban Wastewater

Geography & Geology

Posted on July 14, 2009 by admin| Comments Off

The Fraser River is the longest river in British Columbia and the tenth longest river in Canada. It drains a 220,000 km² (85,000 sq mi) area and flows for 1,375 km (870 mi) into the Pacific Ocean in Vancouver. Its headquarters are in the Mount Robson Provisional Park in the Rocky Mountains, and it passes across the dry Fraser Plateau and through the coastal mountain ranges to the Pacific Ocean. It rumbles onward near the cities of Prince George, Williams Lake, Hope, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and New Westminster. After about 100 km it forms a delta and discharges into the Georgia Strait between Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

Image persmissions by Andrea McNeil at Parks Canada

The majority of the drainage basin of the Fraser lies in British Columbia. However, a small portion does pass into Washington state in the United States. The Fraser Basin system comprises the main Fraser River and a huge network of tributaries that drains more than a quarter of British Columbia before the river’s egress into the Pacific Ocean through Vancouver. The river and its tributaries provide habitat, migration routes, nutrients, and food sources to many ecosystems and communities that exist within the basin. The Fraser Basin is comprised of a mixture of mountainous terrain, interior plains, and inter-mountain valleys. The plains and the valleys are covered with glacial, alluvial, and lacustrine deposits, and the mountains are made up of colluvium and outcrop (predominantly metamorphic and igneous rocks). The Fraser River is naturally high in sediment load due to erosion as it passes through central plateau glacial deposits.

For more information, visit the BC Geological Survey.

Sources:
Rivers of North America (Arthur C. Benke, Colbert E. Cushing – 2005)
Wikipedia (Fraser River)

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Posted in Geography and Geology

Water Quality

Posted on July 14, 2009 by admin| Comments Off

The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia. It drains about one-quarter of the province’s water and ranges from central British Columbia, to Southwest British Columbia and east to the Rocky Mountains near Jasper. The Fraser River’s headwaters are just northwest of Fraser pass in British Columbia’s Rockies and its major tributaries are the Nechako, Thompson, and Harrison rivers.

The Water Quality Index of the Fraser River at Nechako River is ranked as Good or Excellent, where as the Thompson River is ranked as Fair.

What is Water Quality Index?

The Water Quality Index is a freshwater quality indicator that is certified by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) and is developed to attain the environmental quality that is necessary to preserve our natural ecosystem. The index indicates how close we are to preserving and protecting water bodies and the aquatic life within them. Water quality monitoring data is gathered by water quality monitoring stations set up at different sites all along the Fraser River. The Index then compares the data to site-specific water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life. These guidelines are values that define the water conditions which if exceeded would negatively affect the aquatic life.

There are many physical and chemical characteristics of water quality that are measured at the monitoring sites, such as streamflow, major ions, trace elements, nutrients, pH, alkalinity, temperature, turbidity and dissolved oxygen. Biological change over time can alter the water quality of a waterbody, but most of the changes are due to the pollution caused by many anthropogenic factors.

These are the main sources of human-induced water pollution:

Logging
Mining
Agriculture
Dams
Urban development, wastewater, and septic system effluent
Industrial plants, pulp mills, and smelters

After accessing all of the site-specific conditions and how well-protected the aquatic life is, the Index ranks waterbodies in the categories of Excellent, Good, Fair, Marginal, or Poor.

The assessment of the water quality of Fraser River is stated as such:

Fraser River at Red Pass: Good to Excellent
Fraser River at Hansard: Good
Nechako River: Good
Fraser River at Marguerite: Fair
Salmon River at Salmon Arm: Poor to Marginal
Thompson River: Fair
Fraser River at Hope: Good
Sumas River at the International Boundary: Fair

Water quality is measured periodically at the monitoring stations to see the trends caused by the different variables. If these trends are negatively affecting the aquatic life, appropriate actions are taken to improve the water quality of the site and of Fraser River as whole.

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Posted in Water Quality