Anderson Creek watershed: Water quality report for the 2023/24 wet season

Executive summary

Water is essential for life, and steps are needed to understand, protect and restore its health in fish habitat throughout British Columbia. The Raincoast Healthy Waters program was launched in 2023 to establish community-oriented water pollution monitoring in select BC watersheds. Two Healthy Waters sampling events take place every year in each watershed – the first in the dry season (summer), and the second being in the wet season (winter). This report highlights results from the first wet (winter) season sampling carried out with the support and participation of the Pender Harbour Ocean Discovery Station (PODS). Briefly, the Healthy Waters team collected water samples on January 16, 2024, from five water categories, including source water (3 samples), river water (3 samples), road runoff (3 samples), tap water (10 samples) and marine water (3 samples). Samples were then pooled by water category and analysed for coliform, metals, nutrients and physical parameters at ALS Environmental, and analysed for pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), alkylphenol ethoxylates, bisphenols, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and sucralose at SGS Axys Analytical and for 6PPD Quinone at DFO’s Institute of Ocean Science. Overall, the Anderson Creek watershed had relatively good water quality in the wet season, but additional sampling and analysis will provide further insight into contamination impacts from forest fires, domestic wastewater, industrial chemicals and road runoff on the health of this valued watershed.

Anderson Creek watershed

Key findings

• This preliminary assessment of water quality in the Anderson Creek watershed reflects the first of several site visits; our understanding of water quality in these watersheds will grow with additional sampling over the coming two years (2024-26).
• We collected and analysed water in the Anderson Creek watershed during the wet season (January 16, 2024).
• Road runoff was the most contaminated water category in the wet season; it had the highest concentrations of nutrients, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, sucralose, and 6PPD-Quinone.
• The stream and river sample had the highest concentrations of coliform, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and alkylphenol ethoxylates. 
• The marine water sample had the highest concentrations of metals, pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
• Source water was the least contaminated water category in the wet season.
• Overall, the Anderson Creek watershed had relatively good water quality in the wet season:
  • There were no exceedances of Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines.
  • There were no exceedances of Health Canada Drinking Water Quality Guidelines.

Background

Raincoast’s Healthy Waters Program (www.raincoast.org/waters/) delivers high-resolution, community-oriented water quality analysis to watersheds across southern British Columbia. The goal of Healthy Waters is to empower communities with the understanding of the status of water quality in their watersheds, to allow for local stewardship regarding both point and nonpoint source pollution. 

Pender Harbour Ocean Discovery Station (PODS) is an initiative of the Loon Foundation. The Loon Foundation is a registered charity that was founded in 2002 (as the Ruby Lake Lagoon Nature Reserve Society). Their mission is to ignite connections between people and the natural world, encourage responsible stewardship of natural resources for future generations, and to provide facilities and programs for environmental education, arts and cultural exploration, scientific research, and ecological monitoring.

A watershed based approach to sampling

We collect samples from five different categories of water in each of our partner watersheds: from source water, upstream of human impacts, down to the marine environment. 

Source water serves as an upstream reference sample, allowing us to determine which contaminants are being introduced as water traces its path down through the watershed. 

Stream and river samples allow us to investigate the quality of fish habitat directly, by collecting samples from streams, creeks, and rivers used by salmon and other fish species (either currently or historically). 

Road runoff serves as an impacted sample category of current concern, as many contaminants, including  PAHs, metals, surfactants and chemicals such as 6-PPD quinone can be washed off roadways and into fish habitat during rain events. 

We include tap water samples in our analysis as a way to bring our homes into the conversation – we borrow water from the environment in the form of municipal or well water, and generally return it to aquatic habitats in a more-degraded state in the form of storm and sewage effluent (treated or untreated).

Marine water samples provide insight into those contaminants that may degrade fish and whale habitat in the ocean, and enable an understanding of the contribution of land-based pollutants from the adjacent watershed to the marine environment.

Collectively, the lessons learned from our partnering watersheds will contribute to a greater understanding of threats to water quality across British Columbia, and ultimately what policy changes can be implemented to preserve the quality of water for the future of salmon, whales, and people.

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