SQUAMISH - Last week's chemical spill along the Cheakamus River canyon was "the worst possible thing that could happen to the Cheakamus River at the worst possible time," says the president of the B.C. Steelhead Society.

Scott Baker-McGarva, who also owns the Anglers West Fly and Tackle sport-fishing shop in Vancouver, said reports he's getting from the site of Friday's derailment of a CN freight train suggest it could be years before the salmon and trout stocks in the river recover to pre-accident levels.

"It's not just the dead fish you see lying on the beach," Baker-McGarva said Monday. "That's a strong message to people about the fish kills, but what you don't see are all the juvenile fish killed. That's where we're going to miss generations of fish."

He said several species of salmon and trout spend one to two years in the Cheakamus as juvenile fish. But most of those young fish are probably dead as a result of the 41,000 litres of caustic soda that spilled into the river Friday when a tank car ruptured on its bank.

That means, Baker-McGarva explained, that up to three generations of salmon could be gone from the river, and the long-term consequences of that could be devastating both to wildlife and the limited sport-fishing industry that still exists in the area.

"That's really catastrophic."

He said the effect of the chemical spill was the worst for marine life, but it would be difficult to say no other wildlife was affected.

"There's nothing to say that at 10 o'clock in the morning, a bear didn't take a big slurp of the water, or that a heron was actively fishing in the river," he said.

Halvorson said the chemical burned and suffocated the fish and aquatic plants.

Out of instinct, he said, some of the fish were literally "trying to get out of the water" looking for clearer water.

"The entire water column was filled with it, and it burned the flesh and the gills of the fish, and my understanding was, it also absorbed the oxygen, so essentially there was no oxygen in the water for the fish to absorb."

The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority issued an advisory Monday saying that all wells along the river have been tested and cleared for drinking.

However, it added that during the removal of the derailed tanker, residents will be asked to avoid using these water sources again.

"The public will be given 24-hours advance notice prior to the tanker being lifted," the notice said. "Residents will be notified through local radio broadcasts, information on the District of Squamish website and large signs at strategic locations along the river. Local well water users within 100 metres of the Cheakamus River will be given door-to-door notification."

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© The Vancouver Sun 2005