Oct. 2011 Clover Point (Victoria) video
- Thread starter MarkH
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Thanks for the great video. I've always thought about diving at Clover Point (weather and current permitting) but haven't got it crossed off the list yet. Looks like it could be a very interesting site!!
Scuba_Noob
Contributor
Just wondering, no increased amount of feces at that site? Or I'm assuming the current takes it all very far away. Site looks normal from the video and really cool.
The main outfall pipe (the one currently in use) extends out about 1000 metres into the strait, at a depth greater than recreational scuba limits. Between the depth and prevailing currents, the outfall is "flushed" along and disperses quickly in the natural environment. The location that this video is taken is within 30 metres of the point (give or take) and well within recreational limits. I'd have no concerns about increased fecal counts in the water where Swankenstein was diving. The pipes in the video are the _old_ pipes, used before the new one was installed. The old ones are not connected to the sewer system at all any longer.
OP
MarkH
Contributor
From what I've read, the stuff coming out off the outfalls is 99% fresh water (sinks, showers, kitchens, washers and all the rain that falls on roofs, roads, parking lots, etc.). Of the remaining 1%, very little is poop. Most of the other stuff is probably soap, bits of leaves, food scraps, etc. Most of the organic solids are probably broken down pretty quickly by bacterial action (like in an aquarium filter). I think the Clover Point outfall is 1200 meters long and I'd estimate that I was less than 500 meters out. Once, years ago, I did see a shimmer of fresh water the farther I swam out towards the end of the pipe. The other major outfall is at Macaulay Pt., but the end of that pipe is actually closer to the Ogden Point Breakwater than it is to Macaulay Pt. In short, I'm not really concerned about coliform while diving at Clover Pt. You're probably exposed to much more of it swimming in Cadboro Bay for example (goose, duck and dog poop).
OP
MarkH
Contributor
I'd guess that I made it out this far:
Scuba_Noob
Contributor
Cool, good to know.
I always thought reports of increased waste matter in the water were likely unfounded. Reading some reports, I have the perception that the Victoria uses an efficient method to deal with waste.
I always thought reports of increased waste matter in the water were likely unfounded. Reading some reports, I have the perception that the Victoria uses an efficient method to deal with waste.
OP
MarkH
Contributor
The city does regular monitoring of the outfalls and I'm sure that there would be elevated coliform counts in the area immediately around the diffuser end of the pipe. I actually like the idea of secondary treatment of our sewage (maybe on more emotional grounds than scientific) so I'm not one of the people that says our current system is good enough. I do think that it's a mistake to focus all our distaste on the poop, when there is alot more dangerous stuff to the environment being washed out into the ocean (oil/antifreeze from leaking cars, rubber dust from tires, zinc, copper and other metals, household chemicals, etc). I'm not sure if treatment to get rid of the relatively harmless organic solids would remove this stuff as well, but smarter people than me are running the show.
