Work is underway on a stretch of the Alouette River to clean up abandoned and rotting boats, docks, pilings and other debris.
Captain Adam Coolidge of the company Cold Water Divers said the company began work on Sunday, cleaning up the last kilometre of the river before it flows into the Pitt River. They dragged most of the debris to one site on the shore, and it’s easy to see their work site from the Silver Bridge on Harris Road.
Coolidge said they are dealing with six sunken boats, and as well as some massive, waterlogged floats from old docks, as well as other debris.
They were contracted by the federal government to do the work, after a public outcry about the state of the river.
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Cold Water chose the site where a boathouse and three boats were submerged as the staging area for their work. The heavy lifting is done by an excavator on the dike, lifting the material into bins there. A boat is also involved in the operations, with a floating containment boom, and much of the work is making sure they contain the debris, and it doesn’t float away.
Neighbours who live in the area, some on floating homes, walk down the dike and offer their encouragement and appreciation.
“We can’t wait for this to come out,” said one woman, indicating a 40-foot fishing boat that is overgrown with grass. Coolidge heard it has been there for at least 27 years, and possibly longer.
Craig Speirs and Mark Caros, two members of the Alouette River Management Society, which lobbied for the cleanup, attended the site on Tuesday afternoon.
Caros said he frequently walks the dikes and paddles the Alouette, and would float over sunken boats and debris.
“On the water surface, you look down and see the carcasses,” he said.
The dead boats on the surface are an obvious eyesore that brought complaints from many visitors to that part of Pitt Meadows, which has billed itself “The Natural Place.”
Caros approached ARMS about the issue, and soon found himself on the board of directors. He and ARMS have helped bring attention to the problem, and it’s gratifying now to see the work being done.
He’s impressed by the work of the Cold Water team, and said they are making efforts to not disrupt the environment as they do their work.
“The sooner it all comes out, the sooner the river can heal itself,” he said.
Coolidge estimates they will have the work done by Friday. They will have removed approximately 100 tons of derelict boats, debris and marine contamination.