VANCOUVER -- In an effort to reduce high E. coli bacteria levels in English Bay the Vancouver park board is opening up the sewage pump-out stations at its two False Creek civic marinas to all boaters.

The pump-out stations at Burrard Civic and Heather Street marinas were free for marina members, but other boaters were charged a $10 fee to pump out their on-board sewage holding tanks.

But on Friday at the launch of the board’s Clean Water Campaign, park board vice-chair Sarah Kirby-Yung announced that free pump out will be available to all pleasure boat users.

Dozens of pleasure boats can be found anchored inside False Creek or in the areas off Kitsilano Point, some permanently. It is unlawful to dump sewage within three nautical miles of Canada’s shoreline.

The clean water campaign is aimed at boaters, dog owners and the public.

“We have seen unseasonably high E. coli levels in False Creek this year and everyone who uses our waterways and swims at our beaches is concerned,” said Kirby-Yung.

“Clean water is everybody’s business. We want to get ahead of the hot dry summer season by taking early action that we hope will improve water quality.”

Cutting the cost of using the pump-out stations was a key recommendation when Kirby-Yung introduced a motion at a board meeting two weeks ago directing staff to work on the clean water campaign.

Banners and signs will be installed in marinas and dog parks in and around False Creek urging boaters to “pump, don’t dump” and dog owners to “scoop the poop,” and for beachgoers to “put waste in its place.”

Vancouver Coastal Health monitors E. coli levels in the waters of Metro Vancouver during the swimming season to ensure they are safe for bathers.

Media official Anna Marie D’Angelo said boaters were just one possible source of E. coli pollution.

“There are sewage lines from the city and birds and animals are other sources. In the summer E. coli tends to stay on the top of the water and multiply with the heat,” she said.

The latest figures for E. coli levels on beaches in Vancouver and West Vancouver show levels are way below the non-swimming threshold of 200 bacteria per 100 mL of water, with the highest reading of 45 being at Sunset Beach in English Bay with the lowest, 12, at Sandy Cove in West Vancouver.

However, False Creek levels range from 113 in west False Creek to 1,222 in east False Creek.

Paddlers or canoeists using east False Creek are advised to rinse their arms if they have been in contact with the water, said D’Angelo.

gbellett@vancouversun.com

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