North Shore man wants answers about mysterious cloudy water in Wagg Creek

North Vancouver resident Roy Mulder says he's sick of seeing cloudy, grey water in Wagg Creek that shouldn't be there.

At least six times in the past few weeks he said he's seen a murky discharge — that sometimes stinks — flowing in a fish-bearing stream that he hikes past daily.

So Mulder, the president of the Canadian Marine Environment Protection Society, says he is demanding action and indulging in "mad as hell" posts online.

But he said despite formal complaints to the city and federal ministries, he feels ignored.

'Our streams and rivers are under attack'

Mulder said while there are ample avenues for reporting water problems, nobody has shown up to test the water or verify his claims before the evidence washes away.

"This is really getting on my nerves. I've had it. This is my happy place. This is where I go to get away from this sort of thing. People have to understand that our streams and rivers are under attack on a daily basis and nobody is watching," he said in a Facebook video.

In the post, Mulder looks vaguely like Peter Finch, the actor who gives the furious "I'm mad as hell" rant in the movie Network — if Finch was wearing a tuque and glasses.

He admits there is frustration in his voice.

Mulder has also posted images and videos of cloudy water in Wagg Creek that he said is evidence of pollution.

But he said he knows it's difficult to determine what's in the water without tests. He suspects it's concrete or construction waste that later settles in a duck pond.

Mulder's frustrated online rant is getting thousands of views, but little action so far, he says.

"I have had it! This is breaking my heart to see my local stream just destroyed like this," he said.

Mulder is calling out the federal Minister of Fisheries Jonathan Wilkinson, who happens to represent his riding.

"If the minister of fisheries can't take care of his own creeks, I have a question if he can take care of them across Canada."

Disappointment in federal officials

Mulder says the City of North Vancouver has offered the most proactive response.

He said the city's engineering department is working on ways to better educate people on construction sites so that nobody is dumping harmful waste in nearby waters.

But he's been disappointed in the lack of a response from federal officials.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirmed receiving two complaints about spills, but because the "suspected deleterious substance" appeared to be something other than sediment and because it was in fish-bearing waters, it falls under the mandate of Environment and Climate Change Canada.

In a response from the provincial Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy on Jan. 29, spokesperson David Karn said many spills have been reported in Wagg Creek over the years, "most often related to construction from the Upper Lonsdale area."

The ministry said it's difficult to pinpoint a source and the city is making efforts to coordinate with the Regional District of North Vancouver to find out what's clouding the water of late.

CBC also reached out to the city and the federal ministries involved.