A Selwyn Road resident was disappointed in a lack of warning signage around Millstream Creek in the wake of Monday’s diesel spill in Langford.
Amanda Stacey was walking her dog on Wednesday morning along Millstream Creek when she noticed a strong smell of diesel. Stacey later discovered a series of absorbtion pads and a small containment area near the Treanor Avenue bridge.
“My dog always goes in for a little swim and a drink … there’s no indication that you should avoid the area and I’ve seen kids play in there the last couple of days. Just as a local person I’m a little bit dismayed that they wouldn’t warn people to keep the kids and dogs out of that water,” she said.
The clean up operation is being handled by the City of Langford following the spill, which saw a water truck break down on McCallum Road, leaking roughly 300 litres of diesel fuel onto the road.
Some of the fuel got into a nearby storm drain, which eventually connects with Millstream Creek.
“We’ve had a road contractor … and a professional biologist out to look at it as well so it’s an ongoing clean up area,” said Michelle Mahovlich, Langford’s director of engineering.
Mahovlich doesn’t believe that a lot of diesel made it to the creek, as much of it was contained on the roadway by initial clean up crews. “There is still some residual amounts on the pavement that we’re looking to remediate as well,” she added.
She declined to comment on signage concerns, but did note that the City was abiding by Ministry of Environment standards.
It’s unkown how long clean up measures may take, but crews continue to monitor the situation every few hours.
Mahovlich confirmed that a claim will be forwarded to ICBC as a result of the incident.
