The purpose of the Kingston Hub is to to connect with the community through unique water programs and support recreational swimming activities. Our main focus at the Kingston Hub is to present the Biinaagami Project to the general public, connecting people with an understanding of the Great Lakes watershed, traditional knowledge, and clean water. Additionally, we monitor two main sites in Kingston, Gord Edgar Downie Pier and Doug Fluhrer Park, during the summer season, allowing us to provide information about the safety of the water for recreation. Collecting and sharing this information allows us to establish baseline data trends to better understand issues and empowers people with knowledge to know when, where and how they can use the water.

The Kingston Hub is the latest iteration of our involvement in Kingston. This acts as the Innovation Hub of Swim Drink Fish where we trial new methodologies like the Tecta B16 machine, which provides us with faster sampling results, and launch new programs.

We acknowledge that the land on which we work is part of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Huron-wendat traditional territory. Ka’tarohkwi/Cataraqui (Kingston) is originally a land shared by the Huron-wendat Peoples and Haudenosaunee people of the Five Nations/Iroquois Confederacy. The Anishinaabek, specifically the Mississauga and Algonquin peoples, inhabited the surrounding territory as well. We acknowledge that the waters we sample are sacred and we follow the examples set by the traditional inhabitants of Ka’tarohkwi to safeguard these waters for all.

In 2003, Swim Drink Fish (formerly Lake Ontario Waterkeeper), along with the Canadian Environmental Law Association, became involved reviewing the City of Kingston’s sewage system licenses. Increasing bypasses and complaints of floating debris raised a sense of urgency. Working with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, the City of Kingston and Kingston Utilities’, new public notification and clean-up measures were adopted. By 2005, the City of Kingston had become the first major city in Ontario notifying residents when combined sewer overflows occurred.

In 2017 the City began to monitor their combined sewers in real-time and provide live data online. This was the first-ever real-time sewage spill notification system in Canada and Kingston is the only city that shares real-time sewage and stormwater data with the public.

The City also began to implement its Waterfront Master Plan. Part of that plan included the revitalization of Breakwater Park. Swim Drink Fish partnered with The W. Garfield Weston Foundation in its search for its next iconic project on the Great Lakes. We approached the City of Kingston with the idea for a new, accessible deep-water swimming pier.

The Gord Edgar Downie Pier, a beacon for swimmable, drinkable, fishable water, was unveiled in Kingston, Ontario in July 2018. This pier is the first fully accessible urban deepwater swimming pier in Canada.

The Kingston Hub is the latest iteration of our involvement in Kingston. Through community-based water monitoring and community engagement events, Swim Drink Fish continues advocating for a swimmable, drinkable and fishable Kingston.

There are multiple ways you can get involved and support our work! We offer volunteer opportunities to help people learn about their local waters and become environmental advocates themselves.

Click here to learn more about Volunteering.