Dragon Boat West

Coliform warning for False Creek
Bacteria levels in eastern False Creek spike to record-breaking highs
Nicole Tomlinson, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, July 04, 2008
Vancouver Coastal Health is considering issuing an unprecedented warning to kayakers and dragon boaters after coliform bacteria levels in eastern False Creek spiked to record-breaking highs, the regional director of health protection said Friday.

A water-quality assessment released Thursday reported levels in the area were at 2,900 -- almost six times higher than any other region monitored by the health authority.

The City of Vancouver closes beaches when coliform bacteria reaches 200, Domenic Losito said.

More to come


http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=e9af37d5-4a90-466a-97fa-3cd545abc5a0

That's certainly worrisome for those of us who frequents FC. I recall last year one of our team members came down with E.coli. Hopefully it won't happen again, but wow, don't they have any plans to clean up False Creek?

I saw a group of kids (at least five) swimming by the houseboats on Wednesday evening, yuck!!! Wonder how they're feeling.

That is just sooooo wrong.

Our team once had a member who was late for practice so she decided to jump into
False Creek in a effort to meet up with us in the middle of the creek ( dragonboat waterchange??) I'm still not sure if she did it because she was so dedicated to the team
or because she was trying the get the attention of the officers in the VPD zodiac. I guess she had a thing for men in uniform. This incident happened about 3 years ago when the False Creek water "much cleaner"(he said sarcastically). I haven't seen her since that season, but I'm sure she's fine.

I once snapped up a condom that hit my drummer, but I'm sure she's fine now. The traumatization that followed shortly after only lasted a few months. She doesn't dragonboat anymore.

At least it doesn't turn your body orange like Burnaby Lake does, teehee.

The warning is for the eastern end of False Creek (east of Cambie). The central and western areas are a bit better with coliform counts of 500 and 300 respectively. That's still pretty high but nowhere near as bad as 2900.

Here is a letter from the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority:

This is the latest that was printed in the Vancouver Sun on Saturday.

False Creek coliform count soars
Polluted water prompts health authority warning
Saturday, July 05, 2008

VANCOUVER - Fecal coliform counts in False Creek are off the scale, prompting Vancouver health officials to issue an unprecedented warning to recreational boaters.
Concentrations of the bacteria are so high that rowers, kayakers and dragon boaters are urged to stay out of the water and avoid False Creek's eastern basin.
Vancouver beaches are normally closed when the coliform bacteria count reaches 200.
At False Creek's eastern basin last month, the average amount was 2,900 per 100 millilitres of water, almost six times higher than any other region monitored by Vancouver Coastal Health, according to data released Thursday.
Sunset Beach, the closest beach to False Creek, is reporting coliform counts of 118 per 100 ml of water.
Three sewer malfunctions near major construction projects, such as the Olympic village and the Canada Line construction, appear to be the main cause of the high counts, said Domenic Losito, VCH's regional director of health protection.
The micro-organism is an indicator of how sanitary the water is. Exposure to high concentrations can lead to infections in the eyes, ears and gastrointestinal tract, he added.
In one incident, a backwater valve that apparently got stuck in the open position on the south side of False Creek at the foot of Columbia Street was "allowing raw sewage into the water" before it was fixed on Friday, he said.
And in mid-June, city crews struggled to fix a sewer "plugged with granular debris or gravel" that may have been "from homeowner or bigger construction dumping," said David Desrochers, manager of sewer design for the City of Vancouver.
"If you look around you see all sorts of construction in the area ... it probably has something to do with it," Desrochers said. "Somehow debris that's heavier than normal got into our sewer system."
Development leading up to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver has put stress on infrastructure and urban aquatic systems, said Hans Schreier, a professor at the University of B.C. who specializes in storm water pollution.
"Construction creates sediment -- developers are supposed to retain it all [with structures such as sediment fences], but that's almost impossible," he said.
"There are also illegal connections -- a developer looks for the nearest pipe, and sometimes it's the storm water pipe and not the sewer pipe, then they just hook the new plumbing in."
Charlie Cuzzetto, director of the False Creek Community Centre, questioned why VCH waited more than a day after releasing the data to advise the public of possible health risks.
"I would issue an advisory as soon as I knew there was a health concern," said Cuzzetto, who informed kayakers at the centre after hearing the news on the radio.
"And you'd like to know it from the sources and not the media."

meh

i've wound up in false creek more times than i care to admit, in some pretty questionable waters, and i'm perfectly fine

except for that third eyeball in the back of my head  :wtf:

You'd figure that with the Olympic Village being right there that there would be extra precautions/measures taken to clean up the water around there...oh well, as John Glenn said to himself seconds before being blasted off into space: "Oh my God! I'm sitting on a pile of low bids!!"

Heh, the Globe and Mail used this forum as a reference: http://tinyurl.com/5pz5lo. LittleSchrodinger and Special K are now famous!

Wow, i think its time I clarify what little schrodinger said about a dude getting E. Coli.

We cant really confirm it is from False Creek Water, although it could be. But If I recall, the person you are referring to went to a barbecue with me and i found the beef patties to be... slightly undercooked. Within one week later, he got E Coli. We can never really confirm that he actually got it from the undercooked burgers or the water. But I would place my money on the burger.

My mom will be sooooo proud! Not to mention Paddleboy (my brother) will be jealous! :dance:

Wish I wrote something a little more profound  :doh:

Personally, I'll be passing on this week's practices.  I'll ramp up my cross training to build/maintain my stamina.  I've been paddling for eight years now.  If I haven't got it yet, I don't think two days is going to help any now.

Nanaimo, here I come!

i rembr 2 years ago at my last practice before alcan, one of the younger rowdy boats came by and started a water fight in the middle of the creek.  i thought i was being smart by covering my face and a lot of water got into my ear instead.  i got a serious ear infection right after.

i can tell which paddlers are new to the creek when i get disgusted looks from them when i start hacking, spitting and rinsing my mouth (not with FC water!) after a race.  I value my health more than being lady-like!

Wow, the media are quick to pick out the selective wordings. -_- Maybe I should have worded my stuff better to avoid the alarm, too. But, seriously, they're using a third-party internet forum as a reference?

Oh well, panic-inducing media will always be the same.

Thank goodness they ain't shooting me, the messenger, huh?  :shock:

... but wouldn't all that gunk make for some good resistance paddling?   :shock:

I hope that anyone that ventures out on to the creek washes thoroughly after so as not to grow that third eye or fifth testicle.

At this point, just throwing people into the water might be as effective as shooting them. Dunk the messenger? :D

Four testicles are more than enough but a third eye could be useful.

It's pretty certain that your team member did not get E.coli from False Creek water.

The strain of E.coli that is generally harmful to humans is primarily found in animal feces, primarily cattle, not in human faeces. Given the lack of farms around the False Creek area, it is a safe bet that an incidence of E.Coli would not have been caused by exposure to False Creek water.... what would be more likely are ear infections, eye infections, gastroenteritis and possibly even hepatitis A.

Thats extremely interesting (referring to the minimal risk of E coli). I'll be sre to report this to the team, cause up til now, nobody's really be certain about the cause of the E Coli.

Here we go again...



http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=b0f5e20a-c0a2-4774-b478-6c5288d1ffd9

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20080802_014204_8080

Be careful not to splash any water this long weekend!

...that sounds familiar.

I guess i just have to NOT huli this weekend haha

This New Coliform count warning sounds worse.

Last time the warning was for East Basin, East of Cambie Bridge.

Now it is extended out to Burrard Bridge.

Thank goodness I am back at Vernon, paddling on very clean and clear Kalamalka Lake.

Ditto Gunghagis.

Thank goodness I am here in Summerland/Penticton this weekend away from all the "crap", pardon the pun!  :lol:

Any updates about the coliform warning?

Hi everybody,

I phoned Environment Canada/Coastal Health

and the warning for False Creek coliform count was lifted this afternoon for West and Central basins of False Creek. 

It is still in effect for East Basin. 

One of our team members noticed that life guards are now permitting swimming at Sunset Beach (West of Burrard Bridge).

So... if you are paddling in East Basin of False Creek.   PRACTICE SAFE PADDLING.

Minimize splashing
Wear googles, or protective glasses
Don't leave open wounds or sores exposed.
Don't paddle with your mouth open.
Wear a protective condom on your head.

THIS IS RIDICULOUS!

With sewer overflow problems this year.   Pollution in False Creek should become an election issue.  Call your City Hall reps and Parks Board reps and tell them to CLEAN UP THIS CITY.

180 dragon boat teams at Rio Tinto Alcan Festival = 4,500 people who can influence this Fall's Vancouver civic election.  Let's vote for people who can CLEAN UP FALSE CREEK

I just talked with Mr. Losito at Costal Health

He says that False Creek water is presently 5 times above permissable levels for swimming.

He recommends checking the website:
http://www.vch.ca/environmental/docs/water/recreationalwaterquality_falsecr.pdf (http://www.vch.ca/environmental/docs/water/recreationalwaterquality_falsecr.pdf)

The Million+ tons of sewage came through the Terminal sewage outflow, due to changes from Burrard system.
They are re-routing some of the sewage because of Columbia St. construction for Olympic Village.

He says that the two incidents this summer are very unusual.

He says regular sewage overflow after a rainstorm is usually heavily diluted with rainwater
He says infections from virus such as Hepatitis would be unlikely, because virus have short life span in salt water.
He says that the only health implications would be gastro-instestinal.

He says East Basin of False Creek is a pollution problem because of the lack of water flow - mostly due to the blockage caused by the Cambie Bridge.
The "Island" also contributes to flow blockage.   

Thanks for the updates gunghaggis  :D

Crap, now I'm scared ****less (no pun intended).

Vancouver Coastal Health is working on a better alert system for when pollution issues occur within the False Creek area.  Here is a link to the CBC article -
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/08/06/bc-false-creek-water.html (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/08/06/bc-false-creek-water.html).

One suggestion would be to post a notice here on DBW.

StraightLine.

Its nice to know that there is a faster warning/alert system in the works, however they didnt really address/promise a resolution to the problem...

I think i've seen a preview of the faster alert system on Sunday Aug 3rd. While i was talking to the woman in the FCRCC office, there was a guy in a VCH shirt that asked us if the dragonboaters are going into the water...

Were there really signs posted? I've never actually seen one.

Yes, there is a sign attached to the ramp leading down to the Alder Bay dock. If you're not paying attention, it's easy to miss.

I feel sorry for the teams that practice out of the Dragon Zone, stuck in the farthest end of the hot area. Come to think of it, I haven't seen a DZ team practice for a while now.

I'm surprised no one has made a joke about paddling up sh1t creek :D

Maybe you all just have a more mature sense of humour than I do :(

<_< I think the joke's beaten to death already.

Just got word that False Creek has received a clean (relatively speaking) bill of health

During practice yesterday night, i did in fact see a sign attached to the ramp leading down to the Alder Bay dock...BUT that sign was not there when I had practice on Sunday morning and Monday evening. This was especially true on Monday evening when the Global TV news crew was there interviewing teams at the dock itself. The news crew would have taken a shot of the aforementioned sign if it was there.

You can always paddle in Deep Cove - the scariest thing you'll find in the water is a seal.