A Burnaby resident is raising concerns after he discovered what appears to be crumb rubber from nearby artificial turf fields collecting near a storm drain connected to sensitive fish habitat.
He is now calling on the city to do more to keep the material out of local waterways.
It all started during a walk through his neighbourhood, when Louis Nichols noticed what he believed was a large pile of dirt collecting by a nearby drain.
But upon closer inspection, he recognized that it was not dirt.
“This is a massive amount of crumb rubber and sediment, which is not supposed to go into a protected habitat. If there are Salmon in that river, they won’t be able to breathe,” Nichols told CityNews.
The small particles come from the nearby Burnaby Lake Sports Complex, where crumb rubber infill is used on several soccer fields.
Made from recycled tires, crumb rubber was recently found by UBC researchers to release contaminants harmful to aquatic life.
Nichols says he has brought these concerns to the city time and again, but says he still feels he has not been taken seriously.
“I have not even had a response; I have sent images to the mayor’s office, I have spoken to the clerk’s office, engineering, I have tried environmental,” he said.
In a statement to CityNews, the City of Burnaby says it is taking several steps to reduce the risk of pollution, including vacuuming and reverse-flushing storm sewers near its nine artificial turf fields.
The city adds that it is developing a containment system designed to prevent crumb rubber from entering nearby waterways.
“I would like to see some sort of response, especially with the water. That’s the biggest thing: our salmon habitat is supposed to be protected.”
UBC, which also has multiple artificial turf fields, has installed catch basin sacks, sump drains, and drainage baskets that catch the crumb rubber before it can spread to surrounding areas.