09/03/2026
This past month, staff from B.C. Wildlife Federation, in partnership with Josh Baker from Rise Over Run, and Alouette River Management Society were out in different watersheds across the Lower Mainland conducting feasibility assessments for future stormwater treatment. Staff were identifying sites where concentrated road runoff enters salmon-bearing watersheds from highways and assessing whether the locations are amenable to mitigative infrastructure, particularly the Box of Rain (BoR) stormwater treatment technology. It was also incredibly helpful to have knowledge from local streamkeepers across numerous parts of the assessment.
The BoR, developed by Stewardship Partners in partnership with Herrera Environmental Consultants, is a modular biofiltration planter box installed beneath elevated roadways to intercept and treat polluted stormwater from bridge and highway downspouts before it reaches receiving waters. The system routes runoff through filtration media that can remove 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ) and zinc, both compounds that have been identified locally as particularly harmful, as well as other pollutants.
We’re looking forward to continuing to identify sites throughout the Vancouver area where this treatment could be an option to help reduce the impacts of untreated stormwater on urban watersheds and salmon habitat.
