A wet patch of ground described by a concerned parent as an “oil-flooded playground” at Qualicum Beach Elementary School has tested negative.
School District 69 (Qualicum) recieved a report the week of April 17 that liquid with an oily film that smelled of pertroleum was pooling in an area beside the playground at QBES, said Chris Dempster, the school district’s general manager of operations and maintenance.
He and QBES principal John Williams took a look at the spot located next to the playground on Friday, April 21, he said.
“There is something,” said Dempster during an interview with the NEWS on Saturday, April 22. “But I was expecting it to be like that rainbow colour from maybe gas has been dropped on there.”
After feeling and smelling the liquid himself, Dempster said there was no smell and no film, but it appeared to be coloured water.
He added there are no oil or gas lines near the area.
Nonetheless, Dempster had a contractor who worked on the site attend the site on Saturday, and he said he believes the discolouration is due to the biodegradation of the grass in the area. The spot is often under water, said Dempster, and that could have led to grass decomposing.
The area was fenced off while a water sample has been taken to determine the composition of the water.
That report came back late last week, and it showed no signs of oil or gas, said Dempster. “So it’s decomposing earth,” he said.
“We had the experts tell us and we backed it up with the water testing to make sure, and it proves out that what we thought originally was correct.”
Now, Dempster intends to have the area raised this week to keep it from flooding. He said work on that spot was already planned, and catch basins had been put in last year, but they were not working effectively.