Gorge Waterway Initiative

Incident Reporting

There is a lot happening along the waterway. The information below walks you through the different agencies to call if you see something that concerns you - an oil spill, wildlife in trouble, illegal fishing, excess silt from construction, or a speeding boat.

The waterway spans four municipalities - Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich and View Royal. If you are reporting a problem or conern, even if it is not a municipal issue, it is very useful to be able to provide as exact a location as possible.

who do you call?

The table below has been prepared to the best of our abilities, and was most recently updated in December 2011. Agency numbers and mandates often change. Sometimes there is more than one number to call for the same situation, but there is some agency cooperation so calling one number may set the wheels in motion with a number of different agencies.

Situation

Agency

Phone number

Spill reporting:
Oil, contaminant, sewage, etc originating on land or water

Provincial Emergency Program (PEP)

1-800-663-3456 24-hour
PEP works with other agencies (Coast Guard, BC Ministry of Environment, Environment Canada, municipalities) to coordinate spill response

Spills

Each municipality has a pollution control officer to assist with spills.

Esquimalt

250-414-7108 After hours: 250-995-7654

Saanich

250-475-5596 After hours: 250-475-5599

Victoria

250-361-0300

View Royal

250-479-6800

Sewage outflow

CRD

250-360-3256
Monday – Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm

Stormwater discharges

CRD

250-360-3109
Monday – Friday 8:30am – 4:30pm

Destruction/alteration of fish habitat; sport and commercial fishing violations

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

1-800-465-4336 24-hour
Observe, Record, Report (ORR) line

Wildlife harassment

BC Ministry of Environment

1-877-952-7277 24-hour.
Report all Poachers and Polluters (RAPP). Anonymously report all suspected violations of fisheries, wildlife, or environmental protection laws including wildlife safety issues.
Or report online:
www.env.gov.bc.ca/cos/rapp/form.htm

Disturbing migratory birds

Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada

1-877-768-6904  24-hour
The Gorge and Portage Inlet are both part of a federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Dead or living marine mammals

Marine Mammal Rescue Centre

1-604-258-7325 or Cell: 1-604-862-1647
Centre is run by Vancouver Aquarium, which is primarily interested in live, large marine mammals, but they can direct people to other agencies such as DFO

Municipal bylaw infractions such as zoning, building and development (shoreline, set-backs) and tree protection

Weekdays. Most municipalities prefer that bylaw infractions are registered in writing or online.

Esquimalt

250-414-7108 www.esquimalt.ca

Saanich

250-475-5456 www.saanich.ca

Victoria

250-361-0215 www.victoria.ca

View Royal

250-479-6800 www.town.viewroyal.bc.ca

Crime related

Police

Emergency : 911
Non-emergency:
250-995-7654: Victoria and Esquimalt
250-474-2264: View Royal (Westshore RCMP)
250-475-4321: Saanich

Speeding watercraft

Police

Harbour Master (Victoria)

See above: Police don’t regularly patrol the waterway. They investigate speeding issues but are unable to deploy a boat rapidly.  Gather as much information as possible about boat and operator, direction of travel, etc.
250-363-3578
VHF Channel 16 (marine)
After hours emergency:
250-388-6275 (pager #1312)

Boating accident, search and rescue

Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre (JRCC)

1-800-567-5111 Cell: #727 24-hour.
Run by Coast Guard and Dept of National Defence. If you call 911 and say it’s a marine emergency, they would direct you to JRCC.

Encountering or disturbing cultural sites

Archaeology Branch, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

250-953-3334