Ontario creek dredging to remediate 24 billion liters of leaked sewage

(UC) -- A valve on Hamilton, Ontario’s combined sewer overflow system was left ajar for four years, allowing 24 billion liters of sewage to spill, and some settled on the bottom of Chedoke Creek, CBC reported.

Sediment Investigations & Bathymetry in April 2021 involved collecting and updating information on the total soft sediment volume and thickness which was required for design and permitting. Photo: City of Hamilton

The city began dredging work this week, which it hopes will satisfy a Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks order that originally required it to restore the creek by Oct. 31, 2021, the CBC article states. After Hamilton did not meet that deadline, the ministry and city agreed Hamilton could finish the work by the end of 2022.

The city estimates the project will take four months or less to complete, and it should be finished by Dec. 31, the article states. Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc. is completing the $6 million project.

The valve on the sewer overflow system was left slightly open from 2014 to 2018, CBC reported. This let sewage spill into Chedoke Creek, and drain into Cootes Paradise, a property of the Royal Botanical Gardens at the western end of Lake Ontario. The spill allowed a biohazardous sediment to settle at the bottom of the creek.

The city used drones in April 2021 to map out where dredging was necessary, focusing on where the spill happened at Chedoke Creek, where Chedoke Creek connects with Lake Ontario at Princess Point, and the eastern shore of Cootes Paradise, where the sewage was carried, the report said.

The layers of contaminated sediment removed from the water will be placed into Hamilton’s sewer system. The city created an interactive map with information about the dredging project.

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