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OTTAWA – City bureaucrats have been instructed to find a long-term solution to water quality problems at Petrie Island beach.
After testing found the beach’s water contaminated with human feces, city council’s community and protective services committee wants to know how much it would cost to stop the pollution from getting into the river in the first place.
That way, as Councillor Diane Holmes said, the city will know if it can fix the problem or “admit our mistake” of approving the beach against the advice of scientists who warned of water quality issues before the beach was approved by council in 2003 and close the beach entirely.
The city’s medical officer of health, Dr. David Salisbury, and public-works officials say the city is complying with all environmental regulations concerning waste water currently.
Dr. David Salisbury said the choices are simple: stop allowing pollution into the river at current rates or the water is going to get even worse.
Orléans Councillor Bob Monette, whose ward the beach is in, said he felt Petrie Island was being unfairly singled out for criticism by the media because its water quality is no worse than those at other city beaches.