Tuesday 4 July 2017

Teck's Jordan River water cleanup

At a community meeting in Jordan River, Teck representatives provided an update on the preliminary work on the high-risk waste site of mine tailings on the banks of the Jordan River. On-going research is focused on determining the toxicity of the copper discharge.

Teck is working in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and will provide a final report that will summarize their findings and provide options for cleanup.

The Jordan River Stewardship Round Table was initiated earlier this year and was created to provide a forum to share information, pool resources, attract funders, identify and rank projects at a watershed scale, and enable a proactive and inclusive way of conducting stewardship business. It is a results-focused working group that blends technical knowledge, management expertise, and community interests for the benefit of the fish and wildlife resources and their habitat within the watershed. Its primary interests include:

  • Restoration of salmonid habitat such that the river is capable of supporting natural and self-sustaining spawning populations of historic fish stocks.
  • Restoration of wildlife habitat in support of healthy and diverse wildlife populations.
  • Remediation of chronic copper issues in the lower river.
  • Monitoring of completed projects to understand successes and failures and track the recovery of fish and wildlife populations and their habitat.
  • Education and outreach.

~ Wayne Jackaman