Video of fast motorboat in Edmonton creek prompts investigation

River valley users and officials are reacting after a video surfaced on social media of a motorboat speeding down Whitemud Creek in Edmonton on Sunday.

The area is a wildlife corridor, home to various types of fish, birds, and animals, and is widely used by canoeists and kayakers.

The video shows the boat with multiple people on board narrowly missing a canoe travelling in the opposite direction.

"The point where the jet boat goes past the individual in the canoe, it appears to me to be within a foot and a half, maybe two feet at the most, and the canoeist was tucked right into the bank. That doesn’t give much room for safety," naturalist Wayne Oakes commented on Wednesday.

"If there had been one or two more [canoes] behind this lead person, that could have had some real dire consequences."

Oakes has spent a lot of time near the creek over the last eight years.

He said motorboats in the creek is more common than he would like, as he recalled another incident in 2016.

"Two very large V8-powered jet boats came roaring up the creek," he said.

"There were two people in each vessel, they had real heavy duty ear muffs on to try to protect their hearing. And there was a third vessel that was so big, it got stuck and it couldn’t make it up the creek."

Oakes not only worries about the people that use the creek, but the animals who live there.

"It's not uncommon to see deer in the middle of the creek, moose, all kinds of waterfowl, beaver, muskrat. They don't have the ability to quickly get out of the way when something is coming zooming up the creek."

He says motorized boats should stick to the river.

"With a great, big, beautiful open river just a few metres downstream from us, that's the place for your big, high-powered vessels. Not up a little, tiny, picturesque creek like the Whitemud."

'THAT WAS PRETTY STUPID'

His concerns are shared by Ward pihêsiwin councillor Tim Cartmell.

"I did see the video posted to Twitter and I was shocked, quite frankly, that someone would run a powerboat up that creek, at that speed, without regard for any other thing," Cartmell told CTV News Edmonton.

"I'm not a nature expert. I just know stupid when I see it, and that was pretty stupid."

He says there are a number of risks for someone using a motorboat in a creek.

"You cannot see what the underwater hazards are, you can't see around the bend to see who else might be enjoying the water way," he said.

"It's just profoundly irresponsible to act in that way. And I can't imagine why anyone would risk damaging a pretty expensive piece of equipment."

Cartmell says the city doesn't usually have enforcement officers patrolling the creek.

"Our resources are stretched pretty thin when it comes to the resources that patrol park spaces, and of course on a Sunday afternoon they’re going to be in the busy parks. You wouldn't think you need to have a speeding check on a boat in a creek."

The Edmonton Police Service and the city of Edmonton's Marine Unit are now investigating the incident.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti