An oil leak from a heating oil tank located on Songhees Nation land is being contained and diverted away from the Gorge Waterway.
Booms and other oil-containment equipment have been set up in ditches and around a storm drain that feeds into the Gorge Waterway near the Admirals Road bridge since it was first detected by Esquimalt Township on Friday evening.
Kirk Stinchcombe, Songhees Nation’s director of land and environment, told CHEK News that the leak is believed to have started on Songhees land, after a heating oil tank at a home was refilled on Wednesday.
“It was a small leak with a bit of velocity,” Stinchcombe said. “At this point, we believe that very little more is making its way out into the Gorge, which is what we’re all very concerned about.”
The oil tank has been drained and the source of the leak has since been stopped, he said.
But on Sunday, an oily sheen could still be seen along the Gorge shoreline and in portions of the water for about 50 metres downstream of the boom containment area.
Esquimalt said in a statement that it is working collaboratively with Songhees First Nation and the District of Saanich in response to the spill.
“There are no reports of any harm to wildlife or other significant negative effects,” the statement said.
The Ministry of Environment has been notified, and spill response professionals are assisting with containing the spill, the township said.
Anyone who has spotted a spill or a risk of a spill occurring can report it at 1-800-663-3456.
