Harbour remediation project moves to Colwood side

Contractors from JJM Construction carry out dredging operations in the waters adjacent to the Fleet Diving Unit’s F Jetty. The work is part of Esquimalt Harbour Remediation Project. Photo by Peter Mallett, Lookout

Contractors from JJM Construction carry out dredging operations in the waters adjacent to the Fleet Diving Unit’s F Jetty. The work is part of Esquimalt Harbour Remediation Project. Photo by Peter Mallett, Lookout

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

The next phase of remediation dredging operations in the Esquimalt Harbour is now underway in the waters adjacent to Fleet Diving Unit (Pacific) in Colwood.

Overseen by Formation Safety and Environment  (FSE) and contracted through Public Works & Government Services Canada, the work is being performed by private contractor JJM Construction Ltd., of Delta, B.C., in coordination with the Queen’s Harbour Master.

Excavation and removal of contaminants on the sea floor in the waters near A-Jetty wrapped up late last year; current dredging is focused around D Jetty, and between F and G Jetties in Colwood.

“The last 150 years of ship building and other industries have left their mark in the form of contamination, and we are finding through our efforts to remove the worst parts of the contaminated sediments that we are leaving the harbour in a better state,” said Deputy Project Manager Mike Bodman of FSE. “These contaminants present risks to human health and the environment; our overall intent is to make the harbour a safer place for everybody and everything that lives in and around the harbour.”

The DND-led remediation projects cover 354 hectares of the harbour with the intent to remove and reduce the impact of 25 chemicals, including PCBs, arsenic, mercury, lead and cadmium.

These sediment remediation projects are part of the 15-year Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan established in 2005. The remediation projects are also being completed concurrently with the A/B Jetty Recapitalization Project that will replace the aging jetties with more structurally sound, larger, and versatile berthing facilities.

Bodman says the dredging in Colwood is expected to be completed at the end of March with their work then shifting back to Dockyard and specifically B Jetty.

He says the work is carefully planned and highly time consuming because the ultimate goal is to ensure all the contaminated sediments are removed properly while minimizing the impact on the navy’s operations.

The dredging process involves an excavator mounted to a barge that uses a clamshell bucket to scoop out the sediment. GPS equipment makes sure no area of the harbour is neglected. The excavator removes sediment and places it in a large hopper located on a second barge.

Once filled, the hopper barge unloads the sediments onto another barge that is equipped with a processing unit. The processing unit basically separates the material by size and removes a significant amount of water. The water is treated and returned to the harbour. The processed sediment is moved to another barge where it is towed via tugboat to a disposal site located off-Island.

Bodman is doubtful this latest dredging will reveal the same cache of historical artifacts embedded in the soil during the A Jetty dredging. Service medals, uniform buttons, rings, cutlery, plates and other items were unearthed.

“Anecdotally we are finding less debris than we found at A Jetty and a lot more gravel,” says Bodman. “It’s a different era; D Jetty, for example, was built in the 1950s and the sediments reflects when the jetty was built and how it was used.”  

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