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An investigation is underway after highly chlorinated water discharged into the Ottawa River from the Lemieux Island Water Purification Plant last weekend.
City Staff estimate 3.3 million litres of chlorinated water discharged into the historic waterway over a 40 hour period during parts of Friday and Saturday into Sunday.
In an email to Councillors, Environmental Services General Manager Dixon Weir says the discharge was “immediately stopped” when staff discovered the spill Sunday morning.
Weir writes the spill was caused “as a result of disinfection procedures associated with commissioning the recently constructed High Pressure Transmission Main that interconnects the Lemieux Island WPP and the city’s water distribution system.”
The Ministry of Environment has been notified of the spill.
Weir says the Ministry of Environment and Environment Canada have made “follow-up inquiries” about the spill.
The city insists they are “unaware” of any environmental impact, adding at no time was the quality of drinking water affected.