Environment Ministry test say tailings pond did not exceed guidelines
By Nelson Daily Staff
Gabriele Matscha, impact assessment head for the B.C. Environment Ministry said in an explanatory note the first water quality test results since the breach of the Mount Polley Mine’s tailings pond did not exceed BC or Health Canada Drinking Water Guidelines.
“Samples collected near the town site of Likely and on the north shore of Quesnel Lake indicate that none of the analyzed chemical and physical contaminant concentrations exceeded B.C. or Health Canada drinking water guidelines,” Matscha writes.
The breach of the tailings pond dam at the copper and gold mine near Likely, B.C., released 10 billion litres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of metals-laden fine sand, contaminating several lakes, creeks and rivers in the Cariboo region on Monday.
Water samples were collected by B.C. Environment Ministry since the day of the devastating spill, from several locations in Quesnel Lake, to determine potential impacts on drinking water quality and aquatic life.
Read the full memoradum here.
Thursday, also was the first day Premier Christy Clark saw the devastation of the tailings pond dam collapse, “Everybody across British Columbia, our hearts are with you,” Clark told gathered residents. “This is a pristine resource for everybody, but for nobody more than you. And I know it’s just been a terrible, terrible heartache.”
