No end in sight to `ticking time bombs' of pollution in False Creek, mariners say
More and more people looking to beat Vancouver's high cost of living have been purchasing boats to live on in False Creek.
But Zaida Schneider, the director of a non-profit that works to restore the inlet's marine environment, has become concerned with the number of vessels that have sunk or run aground, which he is calling “ticking time bombs of pollution.”
Postmedia News cruised the channel with Schneider on a recent afternoon. Within minutes, after taking off east from Granville Island's public docks, a fully submerged sailboat was visible. Only its mast was peeking out of the inlet's waters.
“It happens all the time,” Schneider said from behind the wheel of the tug boat that he's lived on of for five years at Heather Civic Marina.
“I told the coast guard about this boat last week, it was obvious that no one was aboard and it was at risk of sinking — a boat breaking down like that will fill up with rain water and when it sinks, liberates engine oil and other fish-killing toxins like antifreeze.”
The Friends of False Creek co-founder says stricter enforcement is needed to ensure those anchoring are responsible for their vessels if they break down and to stop False Creek from becoming a dumping ground for derelict boats that contaminate the marine environment.
On the day of Postmedia's tour, only three of 61 vessels anchored in False Creek were permitted to do so, said Schneider, who counted the number of boats that had the required municipal permits posted on their exteriors.
While new federal legislation allows Transport Canada to penalize owners who abandon vessels of concern with fines up to $50,000 since 2019, a government database lists only one conviction that has been handed out in B.C. since the law passed.
“It hasn't been enough to stop the consistent contamination these boats are causing in the inlet,” Schneider said.
To obtain a free anchoring permit, boaters must have a valid operator's licence and agree to accept liability for damages or costs associated with their boat, including towing fees if their vessel is anchored longer than a permitted 14 days in summer and 21 days in winter.
Since 2022, Vancouver police's marine unit said it has handed out more than 400 bylaw direction notices to vessels that have overstayed the allotted anchoring period.
In the coming weeks, police plan to ramp up enforcement efforts by removing vessels of “frequent offenders” who do not comply and leave the inlet within a month of notice being given to them. It has recently set up a secure impound lot for boats that are removed, as well as a fine and payment system for owners who wish to retrieve them.
“The marine unit is attempting to bring members of this team out to meet up with some of the individuals who are illegally living aboard vessels at anchor in False Creek to offer them alternative living arrangements,” Sgt. Darin McDougall told Postmedia.
So far, the issue with removing “vessels of concern” that are non-compliant has been that people live aboard some of them, McDougall said.
“The VPD marine unit is consulting with federal prosecutors on how to move forward with charging individuals who are deliberately ignoring these federal regulations and refusing to leave False Creek.”
In the past two years, officers have dealt with more than 20 sunken or hazardous vessels in the inlet, said McDougall. Removal of these vessels — which requires specialized equipment — can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $100,000.
Aaron Bradley, a Vancouver Island father who built the solar-powered sloop he lives aboard with his wife, three children and their dog, admitted that while he has been anchored in False Creek all winter, he does not have a permit to do so.
“It goes against our constitutional rights,” Bradley told Postmedia from the deck of Schneider's boat.
But just because he doesn't believe in anchoring permits, he said, it doesn't mean he'd abandon his vessel at the first sign of trouble.
“If our engine craps out, we consider it an emergency. There's no going out for dinner or a movie — we're ordering parts right then and there and rebuilding the engine so we can move again.”
Bradley has been known to help other live-aboard residents in the channel make repairs to their vessels. He said many of them lack necessary mariner knowledge and skills.
“This isn't a junkyard to dump garbage,” he said.
Another danger, Schneider said, is when operators leave their vessels
anchored too close to the shore, causing their boats to run aground when the tide drops.
Wedged in between a wall of rocks next to Pacific Boulevard Marina, a large sailboat was spotted on its side during Postmedia's tour.
Schneider said he dreams of a day when False Creek's water is clean enough to be declared safe for swimming, as it was in 1992 following the city's decision to ban industrial activity next to the inlet with the last sawmill closing in 1983.
Irresponsible boat ownership has also led to a deterioration of water quality in the channel, said Schneider, noting that boats are known to dump their waste in the waterway. Sewage contamination from the surrounding city also runs into the inlet when rainwater overflows sewers.
In the past decade, Vancouver said it has been working to separate pipes so sewage is no longer mixed with rainwater. The city introduced a mobile pump-out service for boats in 2017.