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19M$ in sewage upgrades to start this fall
A review of Ottawa’s historical sewage data has uncovered nine previously unreported potential raw sewage spills into the Ottawa River over the past decade, including one of almost 200 million litres four years ago.
Data shows the 200-million-litre potential spill took place at the Keefer Street sewage gate over four days, according to a City of Ottawa news release Thursday night.
The remaining eight potential spills, including three others at the same gate, took place between 1998 and 2000, prior to the city’s amalgamation.
The gates are designed to open and allow sewage overflows into the river after heavy rainfall to prevent sewage from backing up into people’s homes. Raw sewage spills occur when they fail to close properly afterward.
The spills are considered “potential” because they were based only on data showing how long the sewage gates remained open after a heavy rainfall compared to after other, similar rainfalls, and weren’t based on more direct evidence such as the actual observation of an open gate, said Dixon Weir, director of water and wastewater management for the city.
All nine spills were reported to the Ministry of the Environment on Thursday, city spokesman Barre Campbell confirmed Friday.
The comprehensive review of data collected since 1998, the year the former regional government installed flow-monitoring equipment, was conducted in response to the discovery earlier this year of a 1.2 billion-litre raw sewage spill in 2006.
The spill, which was caused by the Keefer Street gate being jammed open for two weeks, was blamed for bacterial contamination of Petrie Island beach downstream.
The city faces two charges under the Ontario Water Resources Act in relation to that spill, including one for failing to notify the ministry immediately.
Councillor asks why measures not in place
Orleans Coun. Bob Monette, whose ward includes Petrie Island Beach, said the fact that data exists to identify previous spills — including four at the same sewage gate — suggests the 2006 spill could have been prevented.
“Spill after spill … Why wasn’t there measures in place to check it back then?” he asked Friday.
The Keefer Street sewage gate will be upgraded starting this fall, along with gates on the west side of the Rideau Canal (just north of the Plaza Bridge) and at Cathcart Square Park, the release said. The upgrades will be funded by $19 million from previous capital budgets.