Victoria is moving toward getting a grip on the problem of derelict and live-aboard boats in the Gorge Waterway, but it wouldn鈥檛 hurt to loosen that grip a little.
City council has given two readings to a bylaw that would eliminate overnight anchorage or moorage in the area northwest of the Selkirk Trestle off Banfield Park; the next stage is public hearings and consultations.
The bylaw would solve the problems caused by abandoned boats and people living permanently on boats in the waterway, but the measure goes a bit too far. Allowing a few official mooring buoys where boats could tie up for a night or two would let visitors share in the delightful serenity enjoyed by those who live and walk along the waterway.
A mooring fee could help ensure compliance and recover enforcement costs.
Whatever the outcome for the bylaw, it鈥檚 good to see a jurisdiction take ownership of a problem that plagues many waterfront communities. What is parked in the water causes them all sorts of headaches, but a tangle of jurisdictions makes it hard to cure the pain.
In the case of the Gorge Waterway, the province owns the seabed and manages it through the Ministry of Lands, Forests and Natural Resource Operations. The surface is a navigable waterway governed by federal navigation and marine habitat regulations. But the city must deal with the effects of debris washing ashore, and residents can have their waterfront views cluttered by decrepit vessels.
It鈥檚 not just about esthetics, although homeowners are justified in being upset at gazing out over vessels with rusted metalwork and mounds of detritus on their decks. Derelict boats can leak fuel and oil. Live-aboards are accused of flushing their holding tanks into the water and dumping their garbage on the shore. Although many conduct themselves responsibly and considerately, without regulation and enforcement, abuses happen.
Oak Bay residents complained for years about derelict boats moored in the bay, but getting someone to take responsibility has been difficult. The problem was finally tackled by a partnership comprising Oak Bay police, the RCMP marine unit and Transport sa国际传媒. Police put notices on buoys and boats for several months, warning owners to remove the obstructions. Most complied, and police removed the remaining structures.
Removing derelicts and other undesirable craft from the Gorge is another step in the process that has turned the waterway from a cesspool into a jewel.
In the late 1980s, heavy metals, gasoline and industrial chemicals were leaching into the waterway from adjacent worksites and derelict boats. Pesticides and herbicides washed in from neighbouring gardens and parks.
And fecal coliform counts, associated with human and animal waste, were sometimes well above the maximum safe level. The upper reaches of the Gorge were heavily contaminated.
An intense effort by local authorities, volunteers and interest groups such as the World Fisheries Trust has turned the situation around. The results they have achieved are striking. Water quality exceeds that of many freshwater lakes in the region. Fecal coliform counts are far below the danger level, in some cases near zero.
Now the Gorge鈥檚 parks and pathways are places where you can inhale fresh sea air, rather than having to plug your nose to ward off the scent of sewage.
The waterway shouldn鈥檛 be used to store or dump boats. It鈥檚 not a suitable place to park floating residences.
But allowing a few recreational craft to spend a night or two on the Gorge鈥檚 serene waters won鈥檛 detract from the view or the environment.
