Water Quality Issues in Vancouver

Parts of Vancouver face water quality issues that residents should be aware of to make informed decisions prior to entering the waterways. Keeping informed about the water quality issues also helps prioritize their remediation.

Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs)

  • False Creek is particularly susceptible to sewage pollution due to the five known sewer outfalls that often experience combined sewer overflows (CSOs) during storm and rain events. Combined sewers are antiquated pipe systems that collect both wastewater and stormwater on the way to water treatment plants. They contain overflow pipes that empty a toxic combination of untreated or partially treated sewage and stormwater into receiving waterbodies, such as False Creek, when the treatment capacity of water treatment plants is overloaded (Phippen & Sutherland, 2006). According to a City of Vancouver council document from 2019, almost 674,000 cubic metres of raw sewage and runoff drained into False Creek last year from just one of the five False Creek combined sewer overflow outfalls (City of Vancouver, 2018). In addition to CSOs, unreported stormwater pipes, outdated holding tanks on boats, and street runoff can contribute to contamination (Phippen & Sutherland, 2006). Vancouver has a highly active waterfront that is accessible year-round. SSOs (Sanitary Sewer Outfalls) and CSOs (Combined Sewer Outfalls) impact recreational water quality and increase people’s risk of waterborne illness if they come in contact with the polluted water. Therefore it is essential to inform the recreational water users of these events year-round.

  • Infrastructure improvements: the best way to reduce sewer overflow events from occurring is separating the sewers and the storm drains.

    Monitoring effluent entering the waterways: Some cities, like Vancouver , have alerts that indicate when a sewer has overflowed recently. This is a great way to monitor when it is safe to enter the waterways.

    Data transparency: It is crucial that organisations and governments are transparent about their data on water quality and sewer overflows so that the public is informed about their waters.

  • Swim Drink Fish provides real time monitoring to help recreators make informed decisions prior to entering the waterways.

  • City of Vancouver : Is currently working towards separating the sewers from the storm drains. Go Vancouver! Learn more.

    Metro Vancouver: has a real-time combined sewer overflow map! Check it out

Climate Change

  • We are already experiencing the effects of climate change, and the harm to our waterways will only be amplified in coming years. Increased extreme weather events, such as heavy rains will further deteriorate water quality by increasing the sewer overflow events. Extreme weather will degrade shorelines, decreasing access and desirability to enter the water, exacerbating problems further. Finally, species ranges will change as they try to move towards a more desirable climate, causing extinctions, and arrival of new, potentially invasive species.

  • Climate change is a complex problem, with many solutions, therefore this list is not exhaustive. We have focused on solutions that you and your city can do to help.

    Reduce your greenhouse gas footprint: Although the most commonly cited way to reduce your greenhouse gas footprint is by driving less frequently, there are many ways to do so. Eating locally reduces the carbon needed for transportation of foods, eating a plant-based diet reduces harmful methane gasses caused by red meats, and think about skipping a plane on your next vacation and instead taking it closer to home.

    Support restoration and protection of carbon-rich areas: some ecosystems remove and store a lot of harmful greenhouse gasses. We must cherish those ecosystems, as they help reduce the effects of climate change. Great ways to do this is to restore the degraded ecosystems back to their natural state, and to protect those that are intact.

    Monitor the health of your local ecosystem: measuring the health of local ecosystems is a great way to determine how we need to help it adapt to climate change.

    Connect with the Outdoors: Spending time in the outdoors and encouraging others to do the same will create advocates for protecting it.

    Discover ways to help your community adapt: Many communities have climate change adaptation plans. Learn about the one in your community and give your input for this changing world.

  • With the changing climate we are noticing that the water stays warmer later into the year and people are actively using the water later into the Fall than in previous years. This shift means a change in monitoring season should be considered to be extended later into the year.

  • The City of Vancouver’s Climate Emergency Action Plan: The city of Vancouver has a climate action plan to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and be net zero by 2050. Learn about the plan!

    CleanBC Roadmap to 2030: The province of BC also has a climate action plan that echos the cities goal of net zero emissions by 2050. Find out more!

    BC Council for International Cooperation Climate Change: is a youth-led group under 25 years of age prioritizing youth-led initiatives in the climate action space. Read about their work!

    Canadian Climate Institute: are Canada’s leading climate change policy research organization. Find our more here.

Litter and Floatables

  • Floatables consist of foreign materials that are floating or suspended in a body of water. They are detrimental to wildlife, destroying their habitat, causing entanglements, and upon ingestion, result in suffocation or starvation. Dangerous floatables such as syringes and other sharp objects can also pose threats to humans, causing scratches and infection. Finally, their deterioration to the aesthetics of the waterways discourages recreation within.

    The most commonly littered item in Vancouver is cigarette butts. These are especially detrimental as they are toxic to wildlife and cause 71 of fires in the city each year.

  • Beach Clean-ups: We must act together to clean up our waterways. Whether you grab a couple of pieces of trash next time you are at the beach, or join a shoreline cleanup, your impact can make a huge difference.

    Education: Increasing public awareness around waste and a circular economy will decrease the likelihood of people throwing their trash on the ground.

    Monitoring: Monitoring trash at beaches allows organisations or individuals to advocate for a cleaner city.

    More Trash Cans: If it is easy for people to throw away their trash, they will be more likely to dispose of it properly. Increasing trash cans is a great way to keep the beaches and waterways clean.

    Pocket Ashtrays: If you are a smoker, consider disposing of your butts using a pocket ashtray. Using one protects our city against fires, reduces litter, and keeps our waterways clean.

  • We monitor the litter at each water sampling site we visit. Collecting this data helps us identify the times of year that littering becomes the biggest problem, identifies when the sewer outflows cause increased floatables, and allows us to advocate for healthy waterways. Volunteer with us to help monitor the shoreline in Vancouver.

  • The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup organizes shoreline cleanups regularly. Organize or join one here

    The U of T Trash Team increases literacy of material consumption to help communities decrease their waste. Learn more.

    International Trash Trap Network uses trash trapping technologies to help cities clean up their shorelines. Have a look at their work!

    Surfrider Foundation’s plastic pollution campaign has resources to help you become a plastic activist, organizes beach cleanups, and more! Find out more here!

Poor Wildlife Habitat Quality

  • The hardened shorelines of Vancouver destroys valuable wildlife habitat. Without habitat, it is difficult for sensitive aquatic species to survive, and they are instead replaced by invasive species such as Soft Shell Clams (Mya arenaria) and Japanese Wireweed (Sargassum muticum) or pollution tolerant species, such as mussels (Mytilus). Aquatic life also helps naturally clean the waters, therefore their absence amplifies the pollution in surrounding waterways.

  • Restore the shoreline: The United Nations has declared this decade to be the “Decade of Restoration”. Let’s take advantage of the momentum and restore Vancouver ‘s shoreline to its former glory

    Monitor the species: Documenting the life present in our waterways is a great way to track invasive species as well as the sensitive species that may be still present. Bringing this information forward to governing bodies is a great way for them to prioritize initiatives like restoration. You can do this on your own using applications like iNaturalist!

    Reduce surrounding pollution: Risks to species such as habitat loss are amplified by additional pollution. Reducing other pollution will increase the likelihood of species survival in degraded habitats.

  • We monitor various locations along the shoreline weekly. As part of this monitoring work, we document the animals present. We pay special attention to invasive species, dead/ injured animals, and species at risk!

  • One Water: The City of Vancouver is undergoing many restoration projects, including daylighting streams, New Brighton Restoration and Trout Lake Restoration. Explore the Projects.

    Tsleil-Waututh Nation Restoration Projects: Recently undertook many marine restoration projects in Burrard Inlet, helping to restore many crucial species such as kelp and eelgrass Restoring Burrard Inlet with Treaty, Lands and Resources, siʔáḿθɘt School, & External Organizations. Find out more!

    Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver: removes invasive species in the area, learn more about their work!

    Stanley Park Ecological Society: removes invasive species around Stanley Park. Get involved!

Chemical Pollution

  • Harmful chemicals can enter waterways from industrial pollution, petroleum stations, and pesticides, along with domestic waste such as paints, and dyes. Harmful chemicals additionally tend to be more congregated around sewer outflows, due to people flushing pharmaceuticals down the toilet. Due to the density of industry around Burrard Inlet, chemical pollution can be a concern.

  • Monitor chemicals in the water: monitoring the chemicals in the water gives the opportunity for swimmers to make informed decisions prior to entering the water.

    Advocate for healthy waterways: using the evidence from water monitoring results allows us to advocate for healthy waterways, with the goal of cleaning up harmful chemicals

  • Although we do not currently test for chemical pollutants, we do test E.coli as an indication of when sewers are overflowing. Since many harmful chemicals originate from sewers, their relatedness does give us a picture of heavy metal contaminants. We are additionally looking into possible partnerships for this type of monitoring work in the future.

  • Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Water Quality Research: conducted research into the safe harvesting of seafood in Burrard Inlet. As part of this research, they discovered the contaminants in Burrard Inlet Tsleil-Waututh Nation Research Report.

    Simon Fraser University Research : Conducts research into harmful persistent organic pollutants in Burrard Inlet and how they move up the food chain. Read about the research!