MVIHES, for the Englishman River Watershed Recovery Plan (ERWRP), took a hands-on approach to help local businesses reduce the impact of storm water pollution on the water quality of the lower portion of the Englishman River watershed, the estuary and Shelly Creek.

The intent of this project is to reduce the impact of storm water pollution on the water quality of the lower portion of the Englishman River watershed, including the estuary and Shelly Creek, by eliminating as many pollutants as possible from target businesses. We have worked with the businesses to discover what toxic materials they have on site and establish ways of eliminating the introduction of these toxins into these watercourses. 

The goal is to increase the automotive business sector’s awareness about the benefits of preventing pollution. A secondary goal is to get businesses, local stewards, all levels of government, and the community working together on long-term stewardship of this watershed.

The project was originally designed to help automotive businesses identify common business practices that may lead to pollution problems and to recommend Best Management Practices (BMPS) that can be implemented to prevent or correct a problem area.  It was expanded to include marine and rural areas as we became more aware of the impacts of the drainage systems to the Englishman River tributaries Morison Creek and Swayne Creek, and the heavily impacted Romney Creek watersheed where many automotive/marine business exist.  BMP’s are procedures and guidelines a business can follow to ensure their operations prevent pollution from entering the storm drain system.

The Automotive Business Stewardship project focuses on the automotive sector. The project incorporates techniques and tools developed by other stewardship initiatives, drawing on materials and expertise shared from the automotive stewardship project carried out by Nanaimo Area Land Trust, and Cecelia Creek Restoration Project in Victoria.

An incentive for companies to participate is  increased profit through operating a green business.

Benefits might include increase to property value, reduced insurance costs, and reduced operation costs. Benefits of operating such a business also include improved reputation, improved worker safety, and enhanced community and employee health.

Another part of this project was water sampling, where the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection contributed water sampling supplies and laboratory water testing. Water and soils samples were taken at five storm water outfall sites, and tested for total and dissolved metals and polyaromatic hydocarbons (PAH’s).  This information was shared with the City of Parksville, and teh province.  The purpose of these samples is so that we have baseline data available to monitor trends over time.

For more information about the program, and Best Management Practices, download our program brochure, or Contact Us.

Congratulations to the automotive and marine businesses in Parksville and surrounding area that have successfully completed Environmental Assessments that show they are following Best Management Practises (BMPs) and working to be proud stewards of the Englishman River Watershed

Funding support for the Auto/Marine Business Stewardship Project was provided by a grant from Environment Canada’s EcoAction program.

Additional funding was received from the Vancouver Foundation and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.