Accessibility and Access Keys [0]
Ottawa is the second-biggest offender when it comes to releasing pollutants into Ontario’s lakes and rivers, says a provincial environmental group.
The most recent numbers released by the Toronto-based organization Environmental Defence — which gets its data from Environment Canada’s national pollutant release inventory — identify the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre as a major source for dumping toxic metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic into the Ottawa River.
Second only to the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant in Toronto, which dumped 13.6 million kg. of pollutants into Lake Ontario in 2006, the City of Ottawa’s only sewage treatment plant in the east end dumped more than 5.2 million kg. of pollutants.
Two other Toronto sewage treatment plants are also on the list, ranked third and fifth.
The group says the province’s sewage treatment plants aren’t being held accountable enough and that heavy metals are especially concerning given their effect on reproduction and development. Environmental Defence said the Toxics Reduction Act introduced on April 7 ignores Ontario’s biggest water polluters.
TOXIC CHEMICALS
Aaron Freeman, a policy director for Environmental Defence, said the act should apply to all polluters — including sewage treatment plants because they are the largest reported releasers of mercury and lead into the province’s lakes, streams and rivers.
“Sewage treatment plants are a source of toxic chemicals, and one of the best candidates to further pollution prevention,” said Freeman. “Applying the act to sewage treatment plants would reduce releases of the many toxic chemicals these plants spew into our waterways.”
HEAVILY MONITORED
Dixon Weir, the city’s director of environmental services, isn’t overly concerned about being No. 2 on the list because the city is meeting all monitoring and other criteria established by the provincial environment ministry.
He also said Ottawa’s drinking water is safe to consume, and the city doesn’t need a second sewage treatment plant.
“We do have capacity to handle community growth over the next few years,” said Weir, adding about 14 million litres of river water passes by the capital every second, which helps dilute anything that ends up in the waterway.
To help keep drinking water safe for residents the city regularly tests for about 360 chemicals and other compounds before it’s allowed to flow through taps.
STRATEGY SHIFT
Gloucester-Southgate Coun. Steve Desroches said the city doesn’t want to be on the Top 10 list and is working on a plan to stem the amount of pollution that flows into the river.
“This is not something that can be achieved overnight to reduce the amount of sewage overflows in the Ottawa River,” he said.
DEREK.PUDDICOMBE@SUNMEDIA.CA