Madeline Dunnett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Discourse
Air quality in Courtenay is improving while pollution caused by wood stove smoke has been steadily decreasing over the past five years, according to a recent report presented to the City of Courtenay council.
Wood is a common fuel source that is used to heat homes in the Comox Valley because it is relatively affordable, reliable and available. But wood stove smoke has also become the most significant source of air pollution in the region.
According to the CVRD, a growing body of evidence gathered since 2008 shows that air quality in the area is concerning. There are high levels of fine particulate matter 鈥� a pollutant that can cause serious health problems 鈥� in the air and much of it is due to smoke.
But thanks to initiatives involving community outreach, air quality monitoring and public education, the levels of particulate matter in Courtenay鈥檚 air has been on a downward trend since 2019.
Smoke reduction trend localized to Comox Valley
The province has been tracking fine particulate matter since 2011, and Jeanniene Tazzioli, the City of Courtenay鈥檚 manager of environmental engineering, said 2019 was the first year the City of Courtenay met B.C.鈥檚 daily average Air Quality Guidelines objective, which is 25 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter.
2019 was the first year the the City of Courtenay reached its goals for daily average levels of pollution from smoke, as seen in this chart. Screenshot/The City of Courtenay
This trend in smoke reduction seems to be localized to the Comox Valley. For example, the report that was presented to council says fine particulate matter concentrations in the Cowichan Valley increased following the COVID-19 pandemic according to provincial data.
In an email to The Discourse, Tazzioli said the city 鈥渨ould like to believe that this decrease is due to more residents choosing to heat their homes without wood burning, but we don鈥檛 have a way of confirming this.鈥�
She also added that this improvement may not reflect everyone鈥檚 experience.
鈥淥lder neighbourhoods with homes that have wood burning appliances have much worse air quality than newer neighbourhoods where homes do not have wood burning appliances,鈥� Tazzioli said.
Because air quality can fluctuate a lot on a day-to-day basis, B.C. Air Quality Guidelines have two different criteria for the maximum amount of fine particulate matter that can be in the air before causing health concerns. The yearly air quality objective is an average maximum of eight micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic metre, and the 24-hour (or daily) maximum is an average of 25 micrograms per cubic metre.
According to the province, these targets can help guide airshed planning efforts and the 24-hour objective can help municipalities with decisions on whether or not to issue an air quality advisory for that day.
Winter evenings remain smoky
In a presentation to Courtenay council on Feb. 12, Tazzioli said that on average, air quality in the city has improved but this doesn鈥檛 come without some nuance. While the city met its daily average targets of 25 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic metre or less, monthly data revealed that winter evenings still pose some air quality concerns.
Data from October to March shows that fine particulate matter in the air still exceeds B.C.鈥檚 Air Quality Guidelines for the yearly average maximum of eight micrograms per cubic metre.
鈥淲hen we look at this monthly chart, the annual threshold is eight, so we鈥檙e above that in the fall and winter, and we鈥檙e below that in the summer,鈥� Tazzioli said. Screenshot/The City of Courtenay
She said air quality data varies depending on the time of day as well. At noon, air quality is typically good compared to evenings when the Comox Valley is prone to atmospheric inversions. These inversions push smoke that is in the air downward, leading to increased smoke concentrations.
鈥淭he evenings in the winter are our most challenging times for air quality,鈥� Tazzioli said.
This chart shows the winter average of fine particulate matter, which exceeds BC Air Quality Guidelines between 5 p.m. and 3 p.m. Screenshot/The City of Courtenay
In midday and early afternoon, air quality is 鈥済enerally good鈥� when atmospheric venting conditions improve and smoke trapped from the previous night has had a chance to clear. It is normally warmer during the day, which tends to create better atmospheric conditions for the dispersal of smoke. The ventilation index also changes from day to day, and can be found online on the province鈥檚 ventilation index interactive map.
Tazzioli also said that winter wood burning has a greater impact on air quality than wildfire smoke because of its frequency. While fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke is observed in July and August, these levels are still much less than the winter months.
What has led to the improvement in air quality?
The City of Courtenay, along with the Comox Valley Regional District, have taken a multi-faceted approach to improving air quality. Tazzioli presented four actions the city has taken to improve air quality. These include provincial air monitoring as well as the installation of PurpleAir Monitors, updating bylaws, providing public education and regional collaboration with the CVRD鈥檚 Regional Airshed Protection Strategy.
The PurpleAir monitors were installed thanks to a $5,000 grant from the BC Lung Foundation and are used to gather and share data about air quality in the region. The district says these monitors 鈥減rovide real-time air quality data into a global air quality map, helping residents understand localized air quality levels.鈥�
The provincial air monitoring system has been measuring fine particulate matter since 2011, and according to the report, it is the most accurate and long-term perspective on air quality monitoring within the region, while PurpleAir is best at providing information about 鈥渞elative air quality in different neighbourhoods within the region.鈥�
In 2022, the City of Courtenay updated its public nuisance bylaw to regulate nuisance smoke. Nuisance smoke is defined as smoke that visibly drifts onto a nearby property and can interfere with the privately owned property or interferes with sidewalks, roadways and parks. According to the report, smoke that meets this criteria is considered a nuisance, and enforcement measures can be used if the burner is not compliant with the bylaw.
Since winter 2023, the City of Courtenay has also run public education campaigns. Its objective is to spread awareness of what causes poor air quality, as well as education about how to improve local air quality.
In a previous story for The Discourse, Robyn Holme, manager of long range planning and sustainability for the CVRD said the district has spent years working on the Regional Airshed Protection Strategy, an initiative led by the Comox Valley Regional District.
It came about through the previous work of the Airshed Roundtable Project, which was a group of citizens and organizations who 鈥渃onvened to work through and identify 鈥� some actions that could be put together as a part of a plan to improve air quality,鈥� Holme said.
The City of Courtenay participated in the project as a steering committee member.
鈥淚t was a really interesting process,鈥� Holme said. 鈥淭his was meant to be a collaborative approach to developing a strategy to essentially tackle a very divisive issue.鈥�
The Regional Airshed Protection Strategy can be found online and includes information on air quality and its impacts in the Comox Valley, as well as action that can be taken to protect the health of community members and the environment and make clean air programs accessible to all.
The action plan, outlined in the document, includes five goals for the Comox Valley: Reducing emissions from existing wood-burning appliances, transitioning away from wood-burning appliances in densely populated areas, reducing emissions from yard waste burning and recreational fires, promoting and advocating for alternatives to non-residential open burning, expanding research data on particulate matter to inform actions and expanding wood smoke education programs.
How can residents help improve air quality?
The Comox Valley Regional District鈥檚 Wood Smoke Reduction Program offers a $1,800 rebate to residents who exchange their old wood-burning appliances for a more efficient heat pump. Those eligible include residents of all municipalities within the district, including K鈥櫭砿oks First Nation, Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland and all CVRD electoral districts. As part of the program, the district also offers free moisture meters to help residents ensure their wood is properly dried out before burning. These can be picked up at the CVRD office.
Tips on how to burn responsibly are also available on the CVRD website. They include information on when to burn, backyard burning alternatives and how to burn. Outdoor burning regulations are different within the City of Courtenay, Town of Comox and Village of Cumberland, and more details on these restrictions can be found on each of the websites for these municipalities.
For the City of Courtenay, Tazzioli said that it has plans to continue its public education campaign and local air monitoring initiative.
鈥淲e would like to continue to support this downward trend that we see in the data, so our community can enjoy clean air and the related health benefits,鈥� she said.
