By Tiffany Williams
Editor
The beautiful Battle River is being polluted. Sometime between June 18 at 3 p.m. and June 19 at 9 a.m. nine 20-litre pails of cooking grease and oil were discovered on the bank of the river just south of the green bridge on 50 Ave according to town officials.
The waste was reported to the Town of Ponoka by a regular fisherman who noticed the pails, he had been fishing the evening before and made the discovery.
Stan Baliant, director for property services for the Town of Ponoka thought that it was not a healthy thing for the river system.
“It’s untreated sewage. We are looking for people to call the town or the RMCP when they see something like this happening. This is dumping with no regard for the environment,” said Baliant.
The town crews worked to resolve the mess and Baliant suspects that someone would have to use a truck to bring the pails in. He thinks that this could damage some of the habitats in the area.
“It is harmful to the aquatic life in the river. That includes everything from the fish to the beetles and the buds,” said Baliant.
Town of Ponoka chief administrative officer Brad Watson said that there has also been reports of littering at the Lion’s Centennial Park and near Fort Ostell. It is important to keep the parks clean and use the garbage cans in the parks so everyone can enjoy the river, trails and parks.
If you see anything similar to this happening in town call the town to report it at 403-783-4431 or the RCMP at 403-783-4472.