Most of the home-heating oil that leaked into the Colquitz River last week is believed to have been cleaned up, but protective booms will remain in place for the rest of the week.
“There may be some trace residuals that we notice over the next couple of days,” said Saanich director of engineering Harley Machielse.
The first reports about the spill came on Friday, with residents noticing a strong fuel smell around Hyacinth Park on Marigold Road.
Crews kept tabs on the booms and other preventive measures over the weekend, and were out again Monday morning removing some absorbent pads, Machielse said.
He said they were also looking into areas where oil might have been trapped, which meant flushing out culverts.
About 600 litres of oil leaked from a hole in an above-ground tank, which was traced to a home on Snowdrop Avenue. The tank had just been refilled and the oil company involved returned to the home to remove any remaining oil.
In 2020, fuel seeped into the river, which is home to cutthroat and coho salmon, in a string of similar incidents. One in January in Gorge Creek, which connects to the Colquitz, was linked to a residential oil tank, while another one in April was linked to a drainage pipe. In a third incident in May that year, oil flowed from two storm drains upstream from a pedestrian bridge on the river in Cuthbert Holmes Park.
About 10 per cent of neighbourhood oil spills originate from residential tanks, the district said, adding it responds to about five such spills each year.
It said homeowners can receive cleanup bills in the tens of thousands of dollars, and most house insurance doesn’t cover spills.
The district encouraged residents to have their tanks inspected before they are filled.
As a preventive measure, Saanich has a bylaw requiring unused underground tanks or tanks that haven’t been in service for more than two years to be removed.
The district said financial incentives are available for homeowners to switch to more efficient heating systems.
jwbell@timescolonist.com
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