Press Releases

On the morning of Thursday, October 9, 2014, the City of Chilliwack received a number of calls from the public to report dead fish on the banks of Sardis Pond. City operations staff, including an environmental specialist, were immediately dispatched to the site to investigate. Upon arrival staff confirmed that approximately 500-700 dead fish were onsite and began cleanup efforts. The environmental technician commenced with water quality testing.

The testing revealed that the dissolved oxygen levels were not sufficient to support fish life. A minimum level of 2mg/L is required and the dissolved oxygen levels in the middle of the pond were an average of 1.6mg/L. In order to increase dissolved oxygen levels in the pond, operations staff filled the pond with dechlorinated water and monitored the inflow at the pond to confirm that no chlorine residual was present.

The remaining fish immediately congregated around the inflowing water stream and the situation appeared to improve. Staff will continue flushing until the dissolved oxygen levels improve.

It is believed that our long dry summer and fall may have played a significant factor in the pond’s decreased dissolved oxygen levels. With the water level in the pond low, and with little to no outflow, the water may have become somewhat stagnant, causing the deterioration in the dissolved oxygen levels.

The City of Chilliwack has never experienced fish mortality like this at Sardis Pond and will continue to monitor the situation in the days to come.

The BC Ministry of Environment and Environment Canada are aware of the situation.