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Pollutants flowing into the Ottawa River threaten the safety of the drinking water of a million area residents, according to an Ottawa MP.
The watershed is impacted by many sources of contamination, including municipal sewage and wastewater, said Ottawa-Centre NDP MP Paul Dewar during a press conference backdropped by the Ottawa River behind Parliament Hill.
In addition, there are nine pulp mills on the banks of the river which contribute to the pollution.
Flash floods—much like those predicted to occur this spring due to the large amount of snow—overburden the current sewage system, causing run off into the river.
“That can be fixed with appropriate infrastructure investment and we think the federal government has a role to play there,” said Dewar.
As UN World Water Day approaches on Saturday, Dewar unveiled an action plan that seek strengthened environmental regulations, consistent enforcement, funding for research and regular monitoring of ecological indicators, and federal oversight of efforts to protect the river.
He also calls for all new dams to be “low impact” and to operate current dams to run like a natural river flows. Incentives must be given to farmers for organic farming, meadow habitat to act as a buffer between farm land and the river and its tributaries, as well as mandatory vegetative buffers.
There is a price tag to some of Dewar’s pollution solutions with infrastructure costs estimated in the millions. However a large component would be public education and a willingness by the federal government to enforce existing environmental legislation when dealing with polluters.
“This is a key investment and it’s important we do more to regulate, invest and ensure that the integrity of the water will be kept for generations to come,” he said.
Dewar was joined by Ottawa Riverkeeper executive director Meredith Brown, who said her organization supports the MP’s action plan.
“The river is polluted and there are fish in it that are contaminated that we can’t eat. We are still dumping raw sewage into the river.” she said.
Sturgeon and eel species are at risk and are tangible examples of how the river is being altered.
“If we don’t take action now, it’s just going to continue to get worse,” she said.
Ottawa Sun