iN VIDEO: Warning issued about microplastics found in Okanagan Lake

An innovative team effort has detected a small but worrying amount of microplastics in Okanagan Lake.

Not only were they detected in five surface water sampling areas but also in water from Kelowna’s sewage treatment plant.

Microplastics (less than five millimetres in diameter) come from larger pieces of plastic, such as bags and bottles, but also from synthetic textiles and other sources.

READ MORE: Okanagan Lake is slowly getting saltier

The amounts found in Okanagan Lake were small compared to other studies in places like the Great Lakes or marine environments but are concerning since they accumulate in the lake and last for thousands of years.

“We are talking about teaspoons of plastic over 30,000 litres of water,” Erin Radomske, a professor in Okanagan College’s Water Engineering Technology program, said in a news release. “These findings remind us that people should continue to be mindful of their behaviours as it relates to plastics.”

The lake samples found 2.75 grams of plastic in 155,000 litres of water, with the heaviest concentration being on the south side of the Bennett bridge in Kelowna with 1.1009 grams.

The study took samples north and south of the Bennett bridge, near the outflow from the sewage treatment plant, near the mouth of Mission Creek and south of the creek as well as samples from the treatment plant itself.

MICROPLASTICS OKANAGAN – trailer from Copper Sky Productions on Vimeo.

The project involved eight Okanagan College students, local organizations concerned with water quality, the Okanagan Basin Water Board and City of Kelowna.

“Their initial findings are troubling but perhaps not unexpected,” Okanagan Basin Water Board executive director Anna Warwick Sears, said in the news release. “Plastic seems to have permeated all our lives. By putting a spotlight on the issue, we hope people will be encouraged to help protect Okanagan waters – the source of our drinking water and for all living things.”

Ways to reduce the amount of plastic going into Okanagan Lake, or any other water body, include simply using less plastic and cleaning it up when it’s dumped.

But changing to wearing cotton or other natural fibre clothing versus synthetics and installing microplastic-capturing devices in washing machines are also recommended.

Additional sampling is planned and, if fundraising is successful, a video on the impact of microplastics will be produced.

For more information, go to the Microplastics Okanagan website, here.

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