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Media Release
OTTAWA, ON – Environment Canada has proposed the enactment of new wastewater regulations that would allow for continued dumping of untreated sewage into Canadian waterways, says Ottawa Riverkeeper. The proposed changes would decriminalize sewage discharges that are currently illegal under the Fisheries Act, and would give many Canadian municipalities up to 30 years to reduce their discharges.
In a formal written statement to Environment Canada, Ottawa Riverkeeper, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and Fraser Riverkeeper assert that the new regulations are an attempt at decriminalizing sewage dumping, by giving municipalities permission to pollute our waterways without consequences. The regulations also fail to adequately address combined sewer overflows (CSOs), one of the largest contributors of source water pollution in Canada. “This regulation lacks enforceable targets for the reduction and elimination of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs)”, says Meredith Brown, Ottawa Riverkeeper. “It gives municipalities permission to discharge untreated sewage into the rivers that we swim, drink and fish from, and provides no incentive for cities to upgrade their wastewater infrastructure before 2039”.
On the Ottawa River, sewage dumping has reached a near-crisis point. The cities of Ottawa and Gatineau discharge significant amounts of raw sewage through their combined sewer systems and treatment facilities. In 2009, the City of Ottawa dumped over a billion litres of raw sewage alone, prompting advisories from public health officials, the closure of beaches, and public backlash about the city’s role as a significant polluter. “Permissive federal regulation is a step backwards”, says Brown. This new regulation would allow sewage dumping to continue at current levels for another three decades, despite the human health risk from pathogenic microorganisms and the threat to aquatic ecosystems. Brown is concerned about the chemicals we are dumping in our river and says this plan does not go far enough to protect us from substances of emerging concern. “The composition of our wastewater effluent has changed over the past 50 years with the continual addition of new hormone-disrupting chemicals and pharmaceuticals to our wastewater”. Unfortunately most municipalities are using basic treatment technologies that were designed a century ago to remove nutrients. “This regulation is yesterday’s solution that will not solve all of today’s sewage problems, let alone those in three decades time. We need to take swift and strong action now to ensure the health and future of our waterways for future generations”.
To read the full Canadian Waterkeeper submission, please visit:
http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/issues/submissions/
For more information, please contact:
Natasha Wilson
Director, Operations & Public Relations
Ottawa Riverkeeper
613-321-1120
613-795-1557
nwilson@ottawariverkeeper.ca