Owners of boats anchored on a section of the Nicomekl River known as the "Hole" say the City of Surrey is wrong to say they are illegally moored and responsible for dumping raw sewage and garbage in the water. Fred Pincock, whose homemade 38-foot gaff cutter, Natalia, is moored at the Hole, says he and other boaters feel Surrey is engaged in a "smear campaign" against them. "It's illegitimate to say it's an illegal moorage, because it's not. That's one of the things that irks a lot of the [boaters] down there. They've been accused of breaking the law — in more ways than one — which isn't fair," he said.
400 billion gallons of raw sewage was dumped into Canadian water
Canadian municipalities are dumping an estimated 400 billion gallons of raw sewage every year. Quebec is the worst offender—leading all other provinces in their failure to meet federal water safety regulations, according to documents obtained through an access to information request by news outlet Blacklock’s Reporter. The Department of the Environment stated that of the 3.4 billion cubic metres flushed per year across Canada, 374 billion gallons went untreated and did not meet the limits. The department’s researchers also predict the actual discharges are likely much higher.