A rapidly deteriorating and abandoned two-storey lodge sitting on a partially sunken barge is being removed from a harbour at Quadra Island under a provincial-federal plan.
The barge has been an eyesore for local residents for close to three years; they feared that it would become a hazard to mariners.
Officials figured that the barge had been abandoned prior to its partial sinking at a Crown water lot in Gowlland Harbour on Sept. 3, 2021.
One end of the barge came to rest on the seabed and water poured into the lodge.
Windows were broken and furniture, including lounge chairs, floated out of the rooms.
Jim Abram, then a Strathcona Regional District director, said at the time he heard the barge had been hauled in from Point Roberts in Washington state.
In the summer of 2021 a notice citing provincial regulations was posted on the structure ordering its removal. That didn’t happen.
The Quadra Island Volunteer Fire Department, RCMP and Canadian Coast Guard all turned out when the barge started sinking. The cause of the sinking wasn’t clear.
The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship and Transport Canada are working together to remove the barge and lodge.
“Its deterioration is resulting in debris spreading through the area and continued breakdown risks environmental harm and further impact to residents, First Nations and recreational users,” a B.C. official said.
“We are committed to removal of the structure and loose debris in the area as quickly as possible.”
Protection booms have been set up around the barge.
The two levels of government are working with We Wai Kai and Wei Wai Kum Nation Guardians to ensure debris does not leave the area while a contract is arranged for the clean up. Work should be completed in the fall, the official said.
The barge had been more or less stable for a long period. But the situation changed recently as the barge was found to be “significantly deteriorated in condition recently, increasing the risk of debris leaving the site.”
Timing for the cleanup depends on lining up the contract and on Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s requirements for fish and their habitat.
The province and Transport Canada will share the cost.
“We have taken legal action against the owner of the barge and will continue to pursue action through the courts to attempt to recover cleanup costs,” the official said.
