My diving experiences in Vancouver Island

[Soakedlontra]

Hello Folks!

I have just come back from a long week-end diving trip to Victoria.

A couple of friends of mine mentioned to me that the city of Victoria does not have sewage treatment plants and dumps raw sewage into the ocean.

When I decided to dive at Ogden Point I was excited about diving from a breakwater (I am a novice diver) with a dive shop and cafe' nearby and I did not think much of what those people told me.

During the dive I though the water was OK and felt 'safe' from exposing myself to nasty bacteria etc.

Now I am writing a story about my diving experiences in Vancouver Island and I have began to think harder about this issue of dumped raw sewage along that stretch of the island coast.

Betty Pratt-Johnson in her "151 Dives in protected waters of British Columbia and Washington State" did include this dive site in her book without mentioning the possibility of immersing yourself into a sea of floating human waste, chemicals of all sorts and heavy metals.

What are your feelings about it?

[cooldives]

Interesting question.

I grew up in Victoria and spent a lot of time in the ocean there without really thinking about that and without ever having a problem. I know they frequently do fecal coloform counts and ensure the water is safe. Maybe the extra 'nutrients' are what make the ling cod and octopus grow so big and the marine life so colorful?

Seriously though, I am completely against the dumping of raw sewage and amazed Victoria hasn't done more to fix this problem. It is discussed often but the plans always hit the backburner when it's budget time.

The tidal flushing works to keep the water clear and safe for now though.

[tjbrh]

You have really managed to hit a nerve with Victoria residents. There are two camps, one for, and one against sewage treatment. I'm in the against camp.

Victoria does not need sewage treatment for a number of reasons. The primary one being that the straights that surround Victoria have a thorough tidal flush causing all of our waste to be removed daily.

Secondly, although fecal matter seems distasteful to humans, many other creatures find it quite tasty, and good for them too! As was already mentioned, the high level of nutrients in our waste promotes the health of a number of marine species.

Now, for divers who find it distasteful to dive in an ocean containing fecal matter I would ask this: are you planning on asking the whales and other marine species to stop *****ting in the ocean?

I think what annoys me the most is that the biggest argument for sewage treatment comes from the tourist industry. A number of tourists and business visitors have voiced their distaste over our choice of sewage treatment. That's great, however, it is not their tax dollars that would be footing the bill for an expensive treatement system that the city doesn't need. So, for all of those who don't like the idea of visiting and diving in a city that discharges it's waste directly into the ocean, please feel free to stay home.

Tony

[wwunder]

I have to agree that I am a little skeptical of the need for sewage treatment. First, the currents and flow around victoria are very significant and flush the area multiple times everyday.

The second point about "sewage treatment" is that it does not remove the problem, rather it displaces it. Once you use a bunch of energy to evaporate the excess water, you are left with a dry product that has to be trucked and disposed of in a landfill. So who wants a sewage landfill in their backyard? There is nowhere to landfill it in the south island.

If you are that concerned about sewage treatment, I wouldn't recommend diving anywhere near a small town on the ocean. Most major cities treat sewage, but most smaller developments discharge straight into the chuck. For instance Howe Sound (best diving off Vancouver) all the little communities do.

[Pinguino]

I tend to agree with the against camp as well.. For the time being anyways..
I've been diving in and around the breakwater for the last 6 years now.. and have not had the displeasure of coming face to face with mr. Floaty.. Actually the sewage is not dumped at the breakwater.. the closest outfall is at Clover point which is a good 3-5km further along Dallas road and the actual pipe outlet is about a kilometer off shore.. Well into the high current flow areas that assist in dispersing the sewage into the straight and then further into the Pacific Ocean. Actually Clover Point itself is a fairly popular dive site (Albiet shallower with a bottom out of about 35 feet) and I've been there diving at least 20 times over the years and again.. No Mr. Floaty. I'd be more concerned about the cruise ships that dock in our ports probably let more crap into the water (not necessarily raw sewage) then any raw sewage pipe. My advice.. Dive the breakwater.. It's a marine sanctuary and your only real fear of diving there is getting hooked by the darn fishermen or coming face to face with some of the biggest ling cods this diver has ever seen.

[Soakedlontra]

I have heard that now Victoria has decided to build a sewage treatment plant. I hope that the city will opt for a revolutionary design that turns waste into energy and screens obnoxious chemicals and heavy metals as much as possible.

From my understanding, the human body waste in itself causes a problem if it is in high concentration. What complicates things further is the fact that, unfortunately, we flush not just body waste but traces of chemicals through consumption of drugs of all sorts and dumping out-of-date drugs too into the toilet.

This problem is particularly acute in the Puget Sound area. The physiology of the fish gets screwed up resulting in abnormal deformations and the development of female egg sacs in males.

According to the book "The Humanure Handbook A guide to composting human manure" by Joseph Jenkins:

'The average person can now expect to find at least 250 chemical contaminants in his or her body fat'…

Anyway what I am trying to say is that this issue is far more complicated than just dumping some human body waste into the ocean that it is not immediately dangerous because tidal currents take it away and gets diluted far off shore.

It seems to me that a lot of folks, regardless where they live, struggle to see the whole picture and understand that if they were willing to make adjustments to their lifestyle and habits far less chemicals, heavy metals and plastic etc. will end up in the ocean to begin with.


...I'd be more concerned about the cruise ships that dock in our ports probably let more crap into the water (not necessarily raw sewage) then any raw sewage pipe...

I wonder about that too. A friend of mine told me that people in Alaska complain about cruise ships dumping their waste off shore. They have to put up with it whether they like it or not. What kills me most is the fact that people who actually travel on those 'monsters' do not seem to be concerned to find out where their waste ends up!

[wedivebc]

I am undecided on this issue, but I am curious about these heavy metals you refer to. Can you cite a source and confirmation that there are in fact heavy metals being ejected into the ocean by the city of Victoria?

[Hyper-limits]

I am undecided on this issue, but I am curious about these heavy metals you refer to. Can you cite a source and confirmation that there are in fact heavy metals being ejected into the ocean by the city of Victoria?

Once I use my waterproof MP5 during a long deco stop, I was listening to Iron Maiden so it is possible that I did inject some heavy metal in our sea of floating human waste.:rocker:

Cheers

Al

[cfenton]

From my understanding it is true that Victoria is the only major city in Canada that dumps raw sewage directly into the ocean without any secondary treatment. The sewage does have primary treatment - it is run through a screen to remove solids. It is also true that human waste is by no means the only waste that ends up in any cities sewage. It can hardly be argued that this is not a source of pollution. There are two sewage outfall pipes and both are approximately a kilometer off shore in the straight of Juan de Fuca which has very strong currents. Therefore the idea that you have to worry about swimming in sewage at Ogden Point is nothing short of ridiculous. Having said that, just because the sewage is washed away into the Pacific on a daily basis - and does not have any major affect on the immediate coastal waters of Victoria - doesn't change the fact that the city is polluting the world's oceans. In my opinion: a environmental concern, yes; and diving concern, no.

[cfenton]

Hello Folks!

I have just come back from a long week-end diving trip to Victoria.

A couple of friends of mine mentioned to me that the city of Victoria does not have sewage treatment plants and dumps raw sewage into the ocean.

When I decided to dive at Ogden Point I was excited about diving from a breakwater (I am a novice diver) with a dive shop and cafe' nearby and I did not think much of what those people told me.

During the dive I though the water was OK and felt 'safe' from exposing myself to nasty bacteria etc.

Now I am writing a story about my diving experiences in Vancouver Island and I have began to think harder about this issue of dumped raw sewage along that stretch of the island coast.

Betty Pratt-Johnson in her "151 Dives in protected waters of British Columbia and Washington State" did include this dive site in her book without mentioning the possibility of immersing yourself into a sea of floating human waste, chemicals of all sorts and heavy metals.

What are your feelings about it?

Here is a quote from "Whidbey Island septic system law takes hold" from August 20, 2008 on WhidbeyNewsTimes.com:

The city uses both its own treatment plant at Windjammer Park and the Navy’s lagoon system at Crescent Harbor to treat its wastewater. City workers do a great job keeping the system operating at peak efficiency, but the fact is that the finished product that pours into Puget Sound is not up to modern standards. As a demonstration to the city council last year showed, Oak Harbor is putting murky, rather putrid-looking treated water into Puget Sound, while a modern sewer plant produces a clear product that, as sewer plant operators like to boast, “is clean enough to drink.”

You might think about working on bringing awareness to the sewage problems at home before worrying about ours.

[deepdiverbc]

I've got an idea. How about they flush red dye into the outflow pipe for a week and see where it ends up. It's probably not very scientific but I bet construction on a treatment plant would begin soon after.

[Darnold9999]

I bet not.

[Soakedlontra]

Here is a quote from "Whidbey Island septic system law takes hold" from August 20, 2008 on WhidbeyNewsTimes.com:

The city uses both its own treatment plant at Windjammer Park and the Navy’s lagoon system at Crescent Harbor to treat its wastewater. City workers do a great job keeping the system operating at peak efficiency, but the fact is that the finished product that pours into Puget Sound is not up to modern standards. As a demonstration to the city council last year showed, Oak Harbor is putting murky, rather putrid-looking treated water into Puget Sound, while a modern sewer plant produces a clear product that, as sewer plant operators like to boast, “is clean enough to drink.”

You might think about working on bringing awareness to the sewage problems at home before worrying about ours.

I know what you mean when you quote the WNT. It is a disgrace that the city councilors seem to be still squabbling about the sewage treatment plant problems going around in circles. A couple of years ago there was a leak and raw sewage flew straight into the bay. The beach and lagoon was closed for about a week. A nearly one mile long pipe had to be run from the plant to the other plant on the navy base. Even then the general public did not seem to be concerned that much. Somebody checks the quality of the water on a regular basis and when it is not that good a warning sign tells the public to stay away from the beach and the water and guess what happens? People still go to the beach to walk their dogs etc.

I did not mean to point the finger to anybody with my post. The pollution of the oceans caused by dumping untreated sewage, chemicals, heavy metals and plastic is a global problem.

My humble effort to raise awareness about the health of Puget Sound waters manifests itself in making art, not by going to council meetings. On a regular basis I see my neighbors spreading weed killers in their backyards or washing their cars in their drives. During a rainy day all those chemicals run straight into the bay because storm water is not treated in the plant. Should I approach them and preach them about the pollution that they are creating?

One day I was walking back home after picking up trash from the beach, a lady saw me and remarked that I must have been an 'environmentalist', instead to acknowledge the positive effect of my action she was more concerned to label me as a, basically, liberal=democrat=no good...

[Soakedlontra]

According to the book "The Humanure Handbook A guide to composting human manure" by Joseph Jenkins:

'The average person can now expect to find at least 250 chemical contaminants in his or her body fat'…



You never know what comes next:


New health risks linked with plastic in bottles - Kids and parenting - MSNBC.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26736202)

[cfenton]

On a regular basis I see my neighbors spreading weed killers in their backyards or washing their cars in their drives. During a rainy day all those chemicals run straight into the bay because storm water is not treated in the plant. Should I approach them and preach them about the pollution that they are creating?

Of course not. It is far more appropriate to be an "activist" on ScubaBoard using a fake name and a picture of a lingcod. Ahh...the bravery.

My personal opinion is that the City of Victoria should not be dumping untreated sewage into the Pacific Ocean. I drive hybrid car, donate money to many environmental groups, recyle, and try not to be wasteful. It's of course not nearly enough, but I try. Frankly I couldn't care less if somebody labels me an environmentalist or anything else. It's of absolutely no consequence to me.

Ogden Point is without a doubt the most popular dive site in Victoria, or on Vancouver Island for that matter. It also is a major factor in the success of the Ogden Point Dive Center. If there is a better way of promoting environmental awareness of our world's oceans than training divers, I can't think of it. Your unwarranted, and unsubstantiated, comments about the quality of the water at this popular dive site serves no positive purpose. Virtually everybody in Victoria, and on Vancouver Island, are aware that the City is dumping raw sewage into the ocean. If there is to be change it will obviously come form the citizens and not foreign visitors. So what were you hoping to accomplish by posting these comments, not only once, but multiple times? It seems that the only possible result you were hoping to attain was to persuade foreign visitors not to dive at this site (based on faulty information and logic). This would be a shame.

[Soakedlontra]

I am undecided on this issue, but I am curious about these heavy metals you refer to. Can you cite a source and confirmation that there are in fact heavy metals being ejected into the ocean by the city of Victoria?

Hello Wedivebc,

I haven't forgotten about your question. It is a rather complicated one because I am not a scientist, I have a limited knowledge of heavy metal and chemicals in sewage water in general. What I know comes from the news, internet and magazine articles. So I did some research and here is what I came up with:

Heavy metals present in Victoria's effluent are lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, manganese, copper.

On top of that there is: phthalate esters (toxic derivatives of the plastic industry), pentachlorophenols (mostly pesticides), PCB's and polycyclic aromatic (PAHs).

For more info you could look at these websites:

1) Sewage | Georgia Strait Alliance (http://www.georgiastrait.org/?q=node/61) (You can find there the Markovic Study, a technical report on toxic substances in water)

2) the CRD Wastewater and Marine Environment Program Macaulay and Clover annual report located at Reports and Detailed Findings (http://www.crd.bc.ca/wastewater/marine/reports.htm), or their program homepage at Wastewater and Marine (http://www.crd.bc.ca/wastewater/marine/index.htm)

3) the CRD Regional Source Control Program annual report located at http://www.crd.bc.ca/wastewater/sourcecontrol/documents/s-c-annual-report-2007.pdf, or their program homepage at About the CRD Regional Source Control Program (http://www.crd.bc.ca/wastewater/sourcecontrol/about.htm)

4) the CRD Stormwater, Harbours and Watersheds Program Core Area annual report located at Stormwater monitoring reports (http://www.crd.bc.ca/watersheds/monitoring.htm), or their program homepage at Stormwater, Harbours & Watersheds (http://www.crd.bc.ca/watersheds/index.htm)

5) Wastewater Treatment Made Clear (http://www.wastewatermadeclear.ca/)

I hope this is of some help.

Cheers

[Soakedlontra]

Of course not. It is far more appropriate to be an "activist" on ScubaBoard using a fake name and a picture of a lingcod. Ahh...the bravery.

My personal opinion is that the City of Victoria should not be dumping untreated sewage into the Pacific Ocean. I drive hybrid car, donate money to many environmental groups, recyle, and try not to be wasteful. It's of course not nearly enough, but I try. Frankly I couldn't care less if somebody labels me an environmentalist or anything else. It's of absolutely no consequence to me.

Ogden Point is without a doubt the most popular dive site in Victoria, or on Vancouver Island for that matter. It also is a major factor in the success of the Ogden Point Dive Center. If there is a better way of promoting environmental awareness of our world's oceans than training divers, I can't think of it. Your unwarranted, and unsubstantiated, comments about the quality of the water at this popular dive site serves no positive purpose. Virtually everybody in Victoria, and on Vancouver Island, are aware that the City is dumping raw sewage into the ocean. If there is to be change it will obviously come form the citizens and not foreign visitors. So what were you hoping to accomplish by posting these comments, not only once, but multiple times? It seems that the only possible result you were hoping to attain was to persuade foreign visitors not to dive at this site (based on faulty information and logic). This would be a shame.


Don't worry that I have had my dose of public exposure under my real name and without a picture of a lingcod shielding me from pretty tough criticisms that were related to 'controversial' art projects.

I think that one good way to influence people is by showing them that you can do things differently: recycling, using biodegradable products, driving a small car that drives about 40 miles per gallon (I wish I had the money to buy an hybrid one), ride my bicycle whenever I can, not using weed killers and pesticides in my back yard etc.etc. The same things that you do. It is a slow process, though. But after living here for four years I am beginning to notice some changes. More people seem to use the bus or ride their bicycles now.

I am afraid you have misunderstood me. I did not post my post with the assumption that I am an expert and I know really what's going on! But, on the contrary, as an ignorant folk who heard about it from friends. I simply wanted to know what other divers thought about this issue, have a civil open discussion and learn something from it.

Of course it is up to the citizens of Victoria to decided whether they want to keep dumping raw sewage into the ocean or not. I have never had the intention to preach from a pulpit and tell people what to do! I have also had no intention to 'persuade' foreign visitors not to dive at Ogden Point! However I believe that people should be informed and that it is entirely up to them to decide whether to dive there or not. I did it and it was fun! But I believe that this dive site could be even better if raw sewage wasn't dumped nearby in the first place. Furthermore I had such great time diving near Victoria that I wrote a story about it. I will submit it for publication to the Northwest Dive News. You are more than welcome to read it. If you are interested give me a shout and I will send it to you. :)

[Soakedlontra]

I did not mean to point the finger to anybody with my post. The pollution of the oceans caused by dumping untreated sewage, chemicals, heavy metals and plastic is a global problem.

In the December 2007 issue of Dive Training magazine I have just read an interesting reply to a reader who enquired about the practice of 'vacuuming' coral reefs to get rid of algae that infest the reefs of Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii (page #98)

"Q:Mike Cioffi sent in a question about, believe it or not, vacuuming coral reefs. "I read on a National Geographic Web site about using huge vacuum cleaners called 'Super Suckers' to clean the mass amounts of algae that infest the reefs in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. I've never been there, but I've certainly seen lots of algae on the reefs of the Florida Keys and many other dive sites in the Caribbean. Why isn't this done at more places?"

A:The reason you haven't seen this technique used more extensively is because most scientists don't think it's a very good idea. Like many projects that are favored by politicians, it looks good in the press but the long-term effect is, at best, suspect.
A little research turned up an excellent review of the Kaneohe Bay "vacuum clearer" project by well-known coral reef expert Dr. Tom Goreau of the Global Coral Reef Alliance. Goreau emphasizes that merely removing algae from the surface of a coral reef does nothing but temporarily improve its appearance. While the overfishing of herbivorous fishes can be one factor, coral reefs are overrun by algae primarily because of high levels of nutrients, or what scientists call "eutrophication" (literally, "good food"). So, in the long run, any project that tries to rid algae from a coral reef is doomed to failure unless the high levels of nutrients responsible for fueling its rapid growth are identified and eliminated.

Actually, it's quite curious to me that Kaneohe Bay would be the site of such a project because that's where a lot of the seminal research on the effect of coral reef eutrophication has taken place. They, of all places, should know better. Algae began smothering the reefs of Kaneohe Bay 30 years ago from sewage that was dumped into it, a result of rising population around its shores. The algae died back dramatically several years later when the sewage outfall was removed. While things began to improve, it wasn't long before the algae returned. As it turned out, controlling the sewage alone wasn't enough. Continued development of the watershed lead to uncontrolled nonpoint nutrient pollution from golf courses, lawn fertilizers and runoff from impervious surfaces like roads and parking lots. These all elevated nutrient concentrations to a level where the nuisance algae were, once again, well fed.

Goreau points out that there are very few examples of algae being removed successfully. One such case comes from Jamaica where, rather than physically removing the algae, authorities eliminated all the land-based nutrients. As a result, the algae that once choked local reefs began to die back in a matter of weeks. Within two months, only a few dying clumps remained.

The nuisance algae that's now taking over large portions of the world's coral reefs comes primarily from artificially high nutrient levels caused by development and other human activities. The algae quickly starves when the naturally low-nutrient conditions are returned to the reef. "But no amount of sucking them [algae] off will work when they grow right back because they are overfertilized," Goreau says. So it appears that the only Super Suckers of Kaneohe Bay are the poor taxpayers who have to pay for the project. It's just another example of the public not only being duped, but hosed; and yet another shining example that there are no quick fixes to environmental problems.

[Darnold9999]

But I believe that this dive site could be even better if raw sewage wasn't dumped nearby in the first place.

How exactly would the dive experience be better? The outfall is easily 10 k away and out in ripping currents that don't to my knowledge circulate anywhere near the breakwater.

Sounds like this is a post to raise awareness about an issue that is important to you in the guise of a post about diving.

Feel free to raise the issue there is lots to say, but it really doesn't have anything at all to do with diving Ogden Point, and raising the exact same issue in three virtually identical posts in three different threads seems to me to be overkill and comes across as someone with an axe to grind as opposed to someone wanting to start a discussion.

[Soakedlontra]

It seems to me that we have reached a point where we keep 'beating a dead horse'!

So I thank all of you who replied to my post. It was a great learning experience sharing thoughts and info with you.

Happy diving!:)