About 90 litres of runoff water from a Teck Metal's facility spilled into a creek near Trail on Wednesday, the B.C. Ministry of Environment said.
"The discharge is believed to be the result of a break in a line carrying runoff water from an historic landfill area to the on-site water treatment facility," the ministry said in a statement.
The spill lasted for about 15 to 20 minutes into Stoney Creek, which flows into the Columbia River. The ministry said it was then reported to have been stopped and contained.
Ministry officials were in contact with staff at Teck's smelting and refining complex and samples of the water were taken.
"The responsible party engaged their own hazardous materials team to respond to this event and has dispatched their environmental monitoring staff to the site," the ministry said.
Officials in Washington State and other agencies were notified.
Teck has not returned a request for comment.