SAVE OUR FISHES by Ron Dowle

Most of us exercise good sense over what we allow down the drain of our kitchen sink or into the 'Porcelain God' in the bathroom-for reasons of self-interest if nothing else. We do not want to risk blocking or damaging our drainage system because we are only too aware of the unpleasant inconvenience and expense that a blocked system can cause. Who has not lain on the kitchen floor, head under the sink wrestling with an obdurate U-tube that eventually (and usually unexpectedly) releases a flood of malodorous waste? ("You should have called a plumber, Henry, I told you so"-wife speaking). Household wastes, as we all know, are conveyed through pipes to a treatment plant (about whose functioning we prefer not to know too much) and are then released, more or less purified, back into our eco-system.

But what about the drains outside in our streets and parkades? Their purpose it is to carry away rainwater, snowmelt and to prevent flooding. They are not all purpose garbage receptacles for the convenient disposal of unwanted chemical products from gardens, workshops, garages, etc. Many people are unaware that between the heavy cast iron grid covering the drain and the ocean, lake, river or stream into which they all flow, there is nothing: no filter, no treatment of any kind. Pollutants are carried straight to the water. Humans are usually warned of contamination by a notice where storm drains outflow on beaches: fish are not so fortunate.

It is not only the pollutants which are uncaringly or wilfully poured into these drains which cause problems for fish stocks-there are bylaws prohibiting this although policing them is a virtually impossible task. Reliance is placed on publicity campaigns to inform people of the harm done by allowing garden chemicals, cleaners and detergents, paint products, automotive fluids of all kind, into drains. The other source of pollutants is mostly uncontrollable. Every parking stall in every parking lot has black patches where oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid has leaked onto tarmac and each rain storm washes a little of this away into storm drains; every tire that rolls along the highway leaves a little rubber behind and this too, particle by particle along with its poisonous heavy metal content is slowly washed down toward the ocean; minor spills are dealt with the same way; every time we wash our cars the detergent and the stuff it cleans off goes down the drains. The cumulative effect of trillions of car miles, trillions of oil spot drips and millions of car washes is a major threat to fish stocks and all other aquatic life.

While we can all remember and make that little extra effort to take harmful wastes to the proper Disposal Centre (call 604 732 9253 or 1 800 667 4321 for the location of the nearest one) there is not much the individual can do to eliminate the other sources of pollution. To deal effectively with this problem a community wide treatment system is needed-expensive-and at present there is insufficient public concern at the seriousness of this problem to cause municipalities to commence such major works. Perhaps a partial solution would be to identify self-contained areas with many acres of concreted or blacktopped land, such as industrial parks or large shopping malls, and install treatment facilities to deal with the run off. This need not be excessively expensive.

We can also all make a difference by not using detergent every time we wash our cars. Use plain water for at least half the washes. Or take the car to a public car wash facility where there is usually some kind of filtration treatment for the run off (ask the management whether their run off is treated). Better still use a biodegradable car shampoo: they are hard to find in stores but 'Environmental Trends Marketing' makes one (for more information contact Ms M Rodgers 604 531 1905)

Some jurisdictions have begun painting yellow silhouettes of a fish on storm drain gratings, as a warning to us all that what goes down the drain will end up with the fishes. Be responsible. Nothing but water should go down storm drains, certainly nothing which is not bio-degradable. SAVE OUR FISHES. For more information contact Friends of Semiahmoo Bay at 604 536 2636.