Swim Drink Fish Blog
Read the latest updates and news releases about community science, water monitoring, Artists for Water, and more.
Press Release: New Toronto Harbour Monitoring Report shows Inner Harbour needs city action on water testing, sewage cleanup
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, a Swim Drink Fish Initiative, is releasing findings from its Toronto Harbour Monitoring Program. After testing water quality for four months, the charity found that a disturbing amount of sewage ends up in Toronto’s Inner Harbour from combined sewer outfalls.
City of Toronto in "defining moment" for its waterfront states 2018 Toronto Harbour Monitoring Report
Waterkeeper’s third annual Toronto Harbour Monitoring Report is clear: Toronto’s waterfront is in a defining moment. The City of Toronto can embrace the harbour’s water quality problems, or let sewage pollution alienate people from the waterfront for years to come.
Letter to City of Toronto requesting sewage spill cleanup - August 2018
The average rainfall for the entire month of August landed on Toronto in a single 24-hour period on August 7, 2018. The Swim Drink Fish Monitoring Team went to Harbourfront on the morning of August 8, 2018. They found evidence of a major sewage spill that poses a threat to public and environmental health. This letter to the City of Toronto explains our concerns.
Cautionary warning to all Toronto waterfront users after sewage spill - update with sample results
Last night’s heavy rainfall caused a significant sewage spill in Toronto’s Inner Harbour. To reduce exposure to bacteria and waterborne illnesses, Toronto waterfront users should avoid contact with the water for at least 48 hours.
Toronto inner harbour monitoring is back, and looking to expand its reaches
The Toronto Community Monitoring Program is a new a Swim Drink Fish initiative. The program builds on our previous Toronto harbour monitoring in 2016 and 2017, which established a robust citizen-science monitoring hub, equipped with an in-house lab.
Toronto Harbour Monitoring Report 2017: Key Findings and Recommendations
For the second year in a row, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper has released a report on its Toronto Harbour Monitoring Program. The report summarizes key findings and offers recommendations for both waterfront users and the City of Toronto.
PRESS RELEASE: Lake Ontario Waterkeeper Releases 2nd Annual Toronto Harbour Report
TORONTO, ON - Lake Ontario Waterkeeper’s 2nd Annual Toronto Harbour Report launched on Wednesday to a crowd of volunteers, donors and community stakeholders. The report summarized Waterkeeper’s findings and offers recommendations that will help to protect Toronto Harbour and water users. It highlighted the continued problem with raw sewage pollution from Toronto’s combined sewage outflows within the inner harbour.
Waterkeeper disagrees with report that concludes the aesthetics of Toronto's watersheds should be considered "Not Impaired"
Waterkeeper disagrees with report saying Toronto's water, from an aesthetic point of view, has been solved and should no longer be considered impaired. Check here for the full submission, including our own findings and recommendations.
Toronto Harbour update: E. coli levels have dropped
After five straight trips resulting in off-the-charts E. coli levels, our most recent samples have come back with much better numbers.
Whatever happened to Toronto sewage alerts?
In August 2015, Waterkeeper announced that Toronto residents would soon receive alerts when wet weather sends sewage and stormwater into Lake Ontario. It’s now May 2017. It rained hard last week. Bacteria in the Toronto Harbour spiked. So what's happening? When can you expect to see those wet weather alerts?