Drug tests on sea life near the sewage outflow pipes around Victoria are giving new meaning to the old expression "happy as a clam." Monitoring by the Capital Regional District has found high concentrations of antidepressants, as well as other pharmaceuticals and personal care products in shellfish near the sewage outfalls around Victoria. As well, the concentration drops within a few hundred metres of the two raw sewage outfalls — off Clover Point in Victoria and Macaulay Point in neighbouring Esquimalt. Sewage treatment will remove drugsLowe said completion of the region's wastewater treatment facility, expected near the end of 2020, will keep most drugs and other harmful compounds out of the ocean. "We'll be removing things like PCBs and flame retardants that are going out as well as these pharmaceuticals," Lowe said.

Source: CBC News February 15, 2018 23:15 UTC