Other views of the Valley

Besides the idyllic views, there's also still an industrial waterfront in Port Alberni.

While the paper mill has cleaned up its act a lot over the years, it still dominates the waterway in the central part of town with smoke stacks (discharging only steam, I'm told) visible from everywhere.

While it may have cleaner discharge, the once grand operation still gulps water through big pipes and has left a fibre mat on the ocean bottom that smothers life trying to reclaim the once toxic estuary. Meanwhile the company may be on its last legs and no one seems certain of what level of environmental clean up they are responsible for.