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In an effort to make city treatment facilities more accountable, everything is reported, Monette continued. “They’re very good about reporting it. Anytime we hear about (spills) is because they get it out to city council, they get it out to the Ministry of the Environment … and also to the public.”
The move to make timely reports comes after 1.2 billion litres of raw sewage flowed into the river in August 2006 for nearly two weeks due to a malfunction. The accident closed Petrie Island’s beach because of high E. coli counts. It was almost two years before details of the spill were made public, prompting the province to charge the municipality under the Ontario Water Resources Act.
“Now we report everything after a certain amount of spillage,” Monette said. “We want the public to be informed … we want them to be aware.”
While Monette indicated he has concerns people will stop going to Petrie Island because of their perception of sewage spills, he noted that the water quality at the beach has been good.
Given that the Ottawa River is a large, flowing body of water, Monette suggested spill from the spring melt won’t have a major impact on summer activities at Petrie Island.
“Petrie Island was one of the cleanest beaches in the City of Ottawa last year,” he said, adding it was the second least-closed beach in the city.
“It’s a matter of promoting Petrie Island, it’s a matter of ensuring the public is always aware of the E. coli, especially when it’s higher,” he said. “I think the public will gain confidence as we go on.”
He added confidence will also boost as people realize the city is reporting all major spills. It won’t be like 2006 when residents wondered why the beach was closed for close to two months and no one had an answer, Monette explained.
While the 2006 spill – which is not a common occurrence – detracted from the many activities available at Petrie Island, it also created public awareness about the issue and an urgency to deal with Ottawa’s aging infrastructure, Monette indicated.
He estimated it will cost the city $700 to $800 million to complete work on the sewage system, which means the city has to continue lobbying the federal and provincial governments for funding.
“Only then will we be able to say we’ve resolved all the spillages,” Monette said.
Now that the issue is out in the public, Monette added he believes the three levels of government will act more quickly.
Before the spill, there were no funds directed toward improving the city’s sewage system, he explained, but now about $100 million has been brought forward to improve the infrastructure process.
“More and more we’re getting cooperation from the federal and provincial governments, and everybody’s on board now,” Monette said. “Everybody knows we have to do something with our waterway. We cannot continue to have spillages.”
In the meantime, the city is planning to put regulator valves in place. Monette indicated the design and construction of the valves will start this year and be complete within two years. Once those are in place, it will close gates more quickly and help “resolve some of these spillages down the road,” he said.
Copyright 2009 – Orleans Star