Cougar Creek Streamkeepers are reminding North Delta residents about the fragility of our urban waterways after a recent fish kill in Lower Cougar Creek. In an email to members and supporters, the group says an estimated 300 juvenile salmonids — including coho salmon fry and cutthroat trout smolts — were killed on Tuesday, June 11 by an unknown substance that it's believed entered the creek via the Westview Drive storm sewer outfall. Investigation by both the Streamkeepers and City of Delta staff could not pinpoint the exact source of the spill or the specific toxin responsible.
Deanie Wong, communications and engagement director for the City of Delta, said the city's climate action and environment team was notified of the incident on June 12 and investigated the same day. City staff took water quality readings upstream and downstream of the outfall, which did not detect anything out of the ordinary, and the water at the time appeared to be clear. "The person who reported the incident to the city also didn’t see any discolouration of the water at the time," Wong said in an email to the .
Staff also opened the manhole at the outfall and tested the water with a chlorine strip, but that test came back negative. Wong said the city has reported the incident to both the province and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, adding live fish have since recolonized the area, including at the mouth of the outfall. Deborah Jones, rain gardens co-ordinator with the Streamkeepers, said the West.
