Oil and chemical spill tracking

Spills of oil and chemicals into freshwater and ocean environments have killed fish, degraded habitat, and led to closures of commercial, recreational, and Indigenous fisheries. Raincoast’s Healthy Waters Program is positioned to collect data at the scene of a spill and collaborate with various organizations and First Nations to understand the impact of a spill. 

Tracker will host a number of rugged analytical instruments, and enable the measurement of several contaminants in the field, including coliform bacteria, nutrients, metals, pesticides, and tracers of wastewater effluent.
Photo by Peter Ross.
Two sockeye salmon swimming in a river.
Photo by Fernando Lessa.

Spills happen

Spills originate from all manner of accidents. The 2005 train derailment that spilled caustic soda into the Cheakamus River that killed 500,000 fish, The 2015 spill of 3,000 L of Bunker C oil from the MV Marathassa into English Bay. The 2020 fire aboard the MV ZIM Kingston in Juan de Fuca Strait that resulted in the loss of 104 mixed cargo shipping containers into the ocean. Each and every accident is bad news, and threatens the health of fish and whales, and contributes to the degradation of their habitats.

Being prepared is key

Given the sudden and unpredictable nature of oil and chemical spills, our oil and chemical spill response work entails being agile and available for support to First Nations, government agencies, and industry during a major spill. We are developing science protocols, and acquiring sampling kits, field equipment, and safety gear, and are poised to deploy our team to the scene of a spill. 

Being prepared on all fronts is key to limiting the damage from a spill. We recognize that with spills, it’s not a matter of if, but when. Research and monitoring to confirm the origin of the spill, track the fate of the spilled product, and monitor the recovery of ecosystem components routinely fails to be a priority. We will deploy expert capacity where and when needed, and work to prevent harm to valued ecosystem components.

Two people working together to collect water samples in a farm field with the mountains in the background.
Photo by Alex Harris.
https://www.raincoast.org/reports/flood

Semá:th X̱ó:tsa (Sumas Lake) Floods of 2021

The catastrophic floods of late 2021 in southern British Columbia (Canada) and neighbouring Washington State (USA) destroyed homes, farms and businesses, with excess water spilling debris, animal carcasses and diesel fuel into historically productive fish habitat. 

We assembled a team to assess water quality in the former Semá:th X̱ó:tsa (Sumas Lake) area of the Fraser Valley over a seven-week period after the floods. We collected water samples from 11 surface water sites and four groundwater sites for comprehensive contaminant analysis and a subsequent risk-based evaluation. We measured 379 analytes (chemical components and bacteria), including 262 anthropogenic contaminants. We examined excess nutrients, metals, fecal coliform, hydrocarbons, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products, perfluorinated compounds, sucralose, and tire-related chemicals.

Read the report

Recent articles

Belted Kingfisher on a branch.

All we want for the holidays is a belted kingfisher in a fir tree!

As we move into the last thirty days of our collaborative campaign to purchase and protect this 45 acre forest, we are reflecting on all of the reasons why conserving this habitat and others like it is so important.
Boat on a vast forested coastline at sunset.

This giving season, Raincoast offers you two opportunities to double the impact of your donations!

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Persia Khan standing in front of some trees wearing a Raincoast Toque.

Raincoast toques and hats are now available!

We are so happy to have our Raincoast hats back in stock. Supply chain issues meant that these hats took much longer to make than we expected, but we were willing to wait because we know these hats are so worth it! Our team wears them in the sun, rain, and snow, which is how…
Aerial view of the Barrowtown pump station.

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The catastrophic floods of late 2021 in southern British Columbia (Canada) and neighbouring Washington State (USA) destroyed homes, farms, and businesses, with excess water spilling debris, animal carcasses, and diesel fuel into historically productive fish habitat.
Illustrated representation of the vision for the Healthy Waters mobile lab, a van, set near the water with mountains and a city looming in the background, and icons surrounding it.

Help us design, build, and deploy our new mobile lab

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Birds eye view of a forest with development plans over.

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With an approved development plan in place, a road already built, and 15 wells drilled, the “Harbour Hill Subdivision” would have soon claimed this piece of maturing coastal forest and wetland that had so far managed to escape development.
Fish viewfinder with many juvenile fish in it.

One with the fish: a day conducting salmon research with our Summer Stewardship Program

“Who’s ready to rumble?” yells Captain Sean, his jolly head poking out the port-side window of the BellaRose. I extend my hand to each of my six youth participants as they climb aboard the vessel. A warm salty breeze washes over me as we embark together on today’s project. This will be a good day….