
A look at the pink substance in Guerin Creek on Sept. 11, 2023. (Photo via BC Government)
A spokesperson for B.C.’s Ministry of Environment says it is not clear what caused the water in Guerin Creek to turn pink earlier this month.
A statement from the Ministry to Radio NL says water sampling was undertaken by Environmental Emergency Response Officers (EEROs) revealed no-long term effects related to the incident from Sept. 11.
“EEROs conducted a number of follow-up visits to businesses and industries within the Aberdeen area where the substance was first reported,” the statement said. ” No visual observations or reports have been received to date since the initial report.”
“There have been no observations of dead fish and the discharge is occurring upstream to Thompson River University.”
In an email to Radio NL, Ministry spokesperson David Karn said the testing of the unknown effluent did not indicate what caused the water to turn pink.
“Samples only confirms if water quality parameters were exceeded (in this case no impacts were noted) but didn’t ID the substance,” Karn said.
People with information about the incident are encouraged to call the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line at 1-877-952-7277.