Surrey’s removal of derelict boats from Nicomekl result of a years-long push: local

As the City of Surrey gears up to remove derelict vessels from the Nicomekl River, some locals say those efforts can’t come soon enough.

Judy Summer has lived near the Nico-Wynd Golf Course for five years. She tells CityNews she’s happy action is finally being taken.

“We’ve got such a wonderful community at Nico-Wynd where people do everything right, we all recycle, we live in a park, we all appreciate the beauty of where we live, and we feel it just needs to be maintained,” she said.

She says her primary concern is the garbage and waste being dumped into the environment.

“All of that needs to be cleaned up because, of course, we have spawning coho in the river. My grandson loves to fish there and I’ve said, ‘whatever you do, don’t eat it,'” she explained.

Related article: City of Surrey to remove ‘derelict’ boats from Nicomekl River

The city announced on Wednesday that it would be working alongside Transport Canada to clean up the boats. It notes the vessels have been moored illegally on a narrow section of the river rather than at one of the multiple marinas at the lower end of the Nicomekl.

The Nicomekl River runs adjacent to a popular walking trail in South Surrey — a walking trail where locals have become no strangers to seeing these boats daily.

Many in the area agree the clean-up effort has been a long time coming, with some residents and business owners telling CityNews derelict vessels have been an issue on the rive for a decade.

Summer says locals have been contacting several government representatives for the past five years to make something like this happen.

“What happened was we recently got the new mayor, Brenda Locke, and (South Surrey-White Rock MP) Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay, and our committee together. We took golf carts out to the site and we reviewed it so that they could see it first hand. They both looked at it and said, ‘Oh my God, this is a mess,'” she recalled.

Derelict boats are set to be removed from the Nicomekl River starting later in September, according to the City of Surrey. (Courtesy X/@SurreyMayor)

Locke said Wednesday she doesn’t see any reason the boats should be illegally moored.

“The Nicomekl is for all to use and is not a place for boat owners who illegally dock their boats with a complete disregard to the environment and the safety of others,” she said.

Work is scheduled to get started sometime in September, and the city says the Nicomekl River will be “continually monitored” from now on.