Media Coverage - September 2017
Photos: Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
Special Coverage:
Unknown Black Spill in Fletcher's Creek Threatens Redside Dace Habitat
Wednesday September 20, 2017
Toronto Star - Ainslie Cruickshank
Unknown black substance threatens endangered minnow habitat
Thursday September 21, 2017
CBC - Greg Ross
Mysterious black sludge in Fletcher's Creek could devastate endangered fish
Brampton Guardian - Pam Douglas
Mysterious sludge pours into Fletcher's Creek in Brampton
Friday September 22, 2017
Brampton Guardian - Pam Douglas
SLUDGE VIDEO: Mystery sludge that poured into Fletcher's Creek could be identified by next week
“Water advocacy group says Toronto beaches still need testing post Labour Day”
Metro News Toronto
"With temperatures soaring in September, many Torontonians are jumping in Lake Ontario to cool off. But environmentalists warn that the city should extend water-quality testing as climate change brings strange weather and blurs the lines between seasons.
Toronto Public Health regularly tests the city's 11 beaches for E. Coli from June to Labour Day. Warnings are posted when water is found to hold above the recommended standard of 100 E. Coli bacteria per 100 millilitres. But testing stops after Labour Day.
That needs to change, said Krystyn Tully, founder and president of the Lake Ontario Waterkeepers.
"Ideally they're doing it whenever people are in the water," she said, "especially if there was something in place that when you get heat waves or temperature spikes, like we're having this week, there's a way to respond to that."
“Sewage Bypass Reporting Act passes first reading in Ontario”
Water Canada Magazine (Sept/Oct 2017)
"On May 31, the Sewage Bypass Reporting Act, 2017 passed first reading in the Ontario Legislature. The bill amends the Ontario Water Resources Act to ensure that information about sewage bypasses is communicated to the general public.
The Act comes at a time when more people than ever before are turning to the water for recreation, social life, and access to nature. The number of Ontarians visiting beaches in Ontario nearly doubled in the last decade, for example.
Unfortunately, when people get to the water’s edge, they are still finding sewage, debris, and “no swimming signs” marring their coastline. It’s no surprise that nearly 70 per cent of Canadians believe that deteriorating sewage infrastructure will become a “more urgent” issue in the near future (Source: 2017 RBC Canadian Water Attitudes Study).
Sewage treatment plant operators in Ontario already report bypasses to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. The Act requires that the Ministry, in turn, alert the public. This ensures that Ontario every community enjoys the same level of access to information. To improve the Act, two alerts should be required: one basic, immediate alert that tells the public when a bypass has started and a more detailed alert after it is over with the length of the bypass, the volume of untreated or partially treated sewage released during the bypass, and the impact on the environment.
The Act won’t solve Ontario’s sewage infrastructure problems, but it will ensure that people are told about sewage bypasses as they happen. This gives the public the information they need to protect their health. It also makes people more informed about the state of their local wastewater infrastructure and the need for investment in proper capture and treatment of sewage."
Krystyn Tully is the Founder and Vice-President of the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper.
"Watermarks from Georgian Bay"
Great Lakes Connection / Connexion Grands Lacs
"Watermarks are still rolling in. The IJC, in a partnership with Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, is recording individual experiences about the Great Lakes as part of a Watermarks project. These are vignettes, in video and written form, about what makes the lakes special to people, and lasting memories they have.
For this month, we have new additions from the most-recent Great Lakes Public Forum in Toronto. Some of those from Georgian Bay, Ontario, include:
Anne Randell lives on Lake Ontario but spends extended summers on Georgian Bay. Her story: Georgian Bay has been the one constant in her family life, after moves and job changes, as 'the place where we all come together.'"