Over 30 mm of rain in the last two days has resulted in the city of Hamilton having to release partially treated wastewater into the local watershed from four different locations.
In a release issued Tuesday, the city explained the plant bypasses are needed amid an ongoing upgrade project at the Woodward Avenue wastewater treatment plant to expand capacity.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the city revealed combined sewer overflows (CSOs) on the west side at the Main/King tank and a pair of tanks at the Eastwood are discharging into Chedoke Creek and Hamilton Harbour, respectively.
The Woodward and Greenhill stations are unleashing partially treated water into the Red Hill Creek on the city’s east side.
Staff alerted residents to the scenario last week revealing the Woodward plant’s capacity has been diminished as it finishes the connection with a new pumping station as part of an ongoing multi-year upgrade.
A map of wastewater discharges in the city of Hamilton as of Oct. 26, 2021. The map shows five bypasses involving partially treated wastewater were needed at four different locations after 30 mm of rain over two days.The new main wastewater pumping station, when it goes online, is expected to be much larger and deeper than the existing facility – accommodating a total capacity of 1,700 megaliters per day compared to the 1,000 megalitres being handled as of this week.
Regulatory approvals were given by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for the upgrade and temporary reduction in wastewater treatment plant capacity, resulting in the current watershed overflows.
Meanwhile, the ministry of the environment told Global News that it is no longer investigating an early October dump of about 353 million litres of partially and untreated sewage into Hamilton Harbour.
Ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler revealed three separate sewage bypass events and a spill of sewage to land were reported by the city of Hamilton on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4 in connection with discharges from the Woodward plant.
“Staff attended the site October 6 to inspect the surrounding area and obtain additional information from the city,” Wheeler said.
“The ministry has determined that the city of Hamilton took appropriate action to address the spill and provided information to the ministry as required by their environmental compliance approval.”
The city revealed the nature of the failure to the ministry but not publicly. Wheeler said the province is reviewing those findings and does not expect the ministry to issue orders.
Hamilton granted extension for Chedoke Creek cleanup plan
Ontario has agreed to extend the deadline for a work plan tied to the remediation of Chedoke Creek following the spilling of 24 billion litres of sewage and untreated wastewater into Cootes Paradise and the western Hamilton Harbour between 2014 and 2018.
The ministry of the environment has now given the city 14 months, until Dec. 31, 2022, to come up with a strategy for dredging the Creek in keeping with an order issued in 2020.
“All parties recognized that the timelines outlined in the order were challenging to achieve, largely due to the agency approvals required to process through the in-water construction,” the city said in a release on Tuesday.
The city says some tasks on the process have been completed including topographic surveying, sediment testing, and a species at risk assessment.
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