Hamilton asking for more time to clean up Chedoke Creek, Cootes Paradise

Just days after being ordered to come up with a plan to clean Chedoke Creek and Cootes Paradise, the City of Hamilton is suggesting the deadline in eight weeks may not be reasonable.

Last week, the Ministry of Environment (MECP) told the city to undertake remedial measures to alleviate environmental impacts on Chedoke Creek and Cootes Paradise after massive amounts of sewage leaked into the creek over a four-and-a-half-year period.

The province says experts identified that water quality continues to be impaired or may become impaired due to the continued release of contaminants into the waterways.

On Wednesday night, the city responded to the order and questioned if the deadline set for Jan. 22, 2021, is a reasonable time frame to adequately develop a plan.

“The city is committed to continuing its full cooperation with the MECP’s investigation, is invested in achieving the best possible outcomes for the Chedoke and Cootes Paradise watersheds, and looks forward to receiving more information and clarity on the provincial officer’s order,” the city said in a statement.

Earlier in 2020 two independent environmental reports, passed on to the MECP by the city in February and April, suggested remediation was not advisable.

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An ecological risk assessment from SLR Consulting released in February said dredging the creek bottom would harm whatever wildlife still survives, adding that future sewer overflows during storms will just “recontaminate” the area.

The study recommended an enhanced monitoring program as the city’s response.

The city has been providing regular updates through a private consulting agency to the MECP since the 24-billion-litre spill of sewage and runoff water into the creek over a four-year period.

General manager of public works Dan McKinnon told Global News in November of 2019 that a “glitch” with their automation process was the likely reason for the four-plus-year spill.

Public works said a bypass gate in the sewer overflow tank that should have been closed was open during that time period.

In addition to requisitioning the studies, the city has removed 242,000 litres of “floatable material” from the surface and edge of the creek in addition to allocating staff to provide routine inspections of the municipality’s water infrastructure since the spill.