Sewage Spill Stewart

Publication date: January 19, 2026

Disclaimer:

Information provided is based on reports received by Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR)
Information provided is considered to be current at the time of posting, but is subject to change

Incident description

Incident Date	January 16, 2026
Name	DGIR: 260225
Source	Wastewater pipeline
Nearest Community	Stewart, B.C.
Spilled Content	Sewage
Who is involved	Ministry of Environment and Parks (ENV), District of Stewart, Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR), Health Emergency Management B.C. (HEMBC)

Response phase details

The responsible person or spiller is legally required to cleanup or manage the cleanup of a spill.

In incidents where the responsible person is unknown, unable or unwilling to manage the cleanup, the Ministry of Environment and Parks (ENV) may assume the role.

The updates below reflect the ministry’s oversight of the spillers’ actions. Details describe the spill response phase only and not the complete lifecycle of the spill. Visit the 'More information' page for other reports.

Updates are in reverse chronological order with the most recent at the top.

Industry-specific language may be explained in the Glossary of Terms (PDF, 106KB).

Most recent updates

January 17

Repairs to the system are complete. The sewage treatment system is fully operational again.

Vaccuum trucks and district crews continue to manage the ongoing spilled material. There is no reports of release to the community.

Drinking water is still not impacted. Water sampling has been completed to confirm the integrity and safety of the drinking-water system.

Public access controls remain in place during ongoing remediation activities.

As the incident has stabilized, no further updates to this webpage are anticipated.

January 16

On January 16, 2026, the Ministry of Environment and Parks (ENV) received a report of a sewage spill near the town of Stewart, B.C.

The District of Stewart is actively managing response operations.

The discharge is coming from a single point. Sewage initially pooled in a gravel parking area. Containment measures are in place. District crews have constructed berms and deployed sandbags to direct flows toward marshland and the Bear River to avoid impacts to nearby residences.

Authorization to discharge remains in place to prevent backups into homes. No drinking water impacts have been identified.

Vaccuum trucks arrived on site to begin clean up of the spilled sewage. Contractors are on route to begin repairs on the sewage treatment plant infrastructure.

ENV Response Officers and Recovery Staff continue to monitor response efforts.

Incident Site

Contact information

For media inquiries, please contact media relations:

Office
250 953-3834

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