Frequently Asked Questions: Sewage spill in Chedoke Creek, Hamilton Harbour
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper has been closely following the massive sewage spill in Chedoke Creek since it was first reported. We were very dismayed to read about the four-year-long sewage leak into Coote’s Paradise and the lack of transparency with the public.
It was announced that the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks has launched an investigation into the spill. We look forward to hearing the results of that process. You can also read Waterkeeper Mark Mattson’s comments in this December 4 Spectator article.
Quite a few people have reached out to us for more information, so we thought we’d share the most Frequently Asked Questions here.
Should water quality information be shared?
Yes! One of the most effective ways to make sure that problems are recognized and dealt with quickly is for monitoring groups to share their results with the public. Waterkeeper notes that there are sampling results going back several years revealing serious sewage pollution problems in Chedoke Creek. We encourage monitoring organizations to share results through their websites or shared platforms like our Swim Guide (www.theswimguide.org).
If you are monitoring for bacteria or know someone who is, please connect them with our Swim Guide team for more information about sharing their results with the public - contact@theswimguide.org.
We have also created an open data sharing standard to make it easy for organizations to automate their data sharing. This delivers up to date sample results to the public immediately, with no additional website or app updates. For more information about that data sharing standard, go here https://www.recreationalwater.ca/.
Should there be more water quality monitoring?
Yes! This process also highlights one of the advantages of citizen science: it was members of the community who recognized the significance of the problem and raised alarm bells. More eyes and ears in the field means more protection for the water.
That’s why Waterkeeper and Swim Drink Fish have been developing a community monitoring hub network. We believe affordable, citizen-led monitoring can augment the work that the government does and better protect the Great Lakes. We do not have a monitoring hub in Hamilton, but there may be ways for local volunteers to take steps towards a satellite program. You can read about that initiative here https://www.swimdrinkfish.ca/citizen-science.
What can you do to help?
Report pollution. We can’t stress enough how important it is for people to document pollution that they see, especially sewage debris.
Here’s how to report on pollution and other concerns:
Report Pollution through Swim Guide: https://www.theswimguide.org/report/
Photo submission, and beach image database on Swim Guide: https://www.theswimguide.org/2018/08/06/swim-guide-photo-submission-feature-and-beach-image-database/
You can also download the Swim Guide app to your smartphone and use the built-in pollution reporting tool.
By reporting to us through these tools we can add photos and information to our database. If we see clusters of pollution reports coming from the same area, we can follow up. We are also working on ways to use computer technology to catalogue pollution images and alert us to sewage spills - your photos will help make that possible.
Evidence of sewage pollution on a pebble beach. Photo by Elise Mackie.
What does a good sewage spill alerts policy look like?
The City of Hamilton is now posting wastewater treatment plant and some combined sewer outfall spill notifications on its website, here.
We are strong supporters of proactive reporting of sewage spills. We created a model alert in 2018 that summarizes what information should be communicated to the public, when, and how.
You can see the model policy here: Model Policy for Sewage Spill Public Alerts
This model policy is meant to inform the development of provincial regulations or municipal bylaws for the proactive public reporting of all sewage discharges. It was originally drafted to ensure that Ontario would not lag behind its American counterparts on the Great Lakes.
You can use this model policy to help ensure Hamilton’s new alerts program effectively communicates sewage spill information to the public. If you would like to see this kind of reporting required across the province, you can also reference it in messages to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.
