City of Hamilton pleads guilty to provincial charges for 4-year sewage spill into creek

Hamilton, Ont., is taking responsibility for a four-year, 24-billion litre sewage and stormwater spill into Chedoke Creek.

The city pleaded guilty in an Ontario court on Thursday and will pay a fine of $2.1 million plus other incidental costs for the discharge that started in 2014 when a gate was left partially open in a combined sewer overflow (CSO) tank.

It’s the largest fine for a single offence under the Ontario Water Resources Act, according to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).

The decision not to fight the matter in court comes after the city’s legal counsel and the province’s solicitors suggested it was not in the best interest of the public to take the case to trial, Public Works general manager Carlisle Khan said.

“Our legal counsel went back to city council … laid out the case and kind of where we were at,” Khan explained. “At the end of the day, I think both legal (counsels) agreed that this would be in the best interest of the public.”

The city will actually fork over close to $3 million after some $364,500 is paid out to the Royal Botanical Gardens and a $525,000 victim fine surcharge – paid to the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Charges were laid by the MECP in December 2020, almost two weeks to the day Hamilton staff requested more time to deal with an order from the province to clean up Chedoke Creek and Cootes Paradise.

A provincial order demanded remedial measures after experts claimed the water quality continues to be impaired or may become impaired due to the continued release of contaminants into the waterways.

Part of the province’s orders included “spot dredging” to clear clogged channels in the waterways and remove approximately 64,000 gallons of floating material from the creek’s surface.

A third-party contractor dropped a hydraulic dredger into the creek in mid-July for that clean-up, expected to take three-and-a-half months to complete.

Director of water Nick Winters said that project could finish ahead of schedule and meet the October 31 deadline.

In an agreed statement of facts, the MECP and the city characterized the “largest wetland at the western end of Hamilton Harbour” as an important area for migratory birds and significant fish habitat with a history of  “having poor water quality.”

Sampling from “various agencies” in the spring of 2018 showed significant deterioration in water quality, particularly, levels of Escherichia coli (“E.coli”).

The MECP said a “direct complaint from the public” concerning sewage-like odours that “had gotten particularly bad” would begin a dialogue with the city to seek the cause.

In May 2018, a consultant would inspect a “confined space walk-through” at a twin box culvert for the city, and later report a pipe discharging “water that was cloudy with a sewage smell” into the creek.

That flow would be stopped by city staff and then reported to the MECP.

A further probe revealed an Influent Well Overflow Gate at the Main/King CSO station was set in the open position at 5 per cent in late January 2014, when it was supposed to be completely closed.

The following February, an official city process control narrative document was found stating the station’s gate was supposed to be 5 per cent open.

An error that prevented detection, according to the joint statement.

Additional combined sewage and stormwater discharges were also discovered as a result of an “inoperable” gate causing a build-up of sewage that was supposed travel around the Main/King CSO to the Woodward water plant for treatment.

It’s believed there were more than 40 days in which the CSO overflowed dropping 24 billion litres of effluent into Chedoke Creek.

Winter wasn’t able to explain the existence of the document in error instructing staff to keep the CSO gate open.

He said there were “challenges” looking into individuals involved during the timeframe it was created.

“When staff are looking at what’s physically happening in the field and given supporting information … versus what’s supposed to be happening, if they see that the two align then they’re not going to see something that shouldn’t be happening,” he said.

In a statement, Mayor Andrea Horwath said she was “encouraged” by the city’s guilty plea and apology to Hamilton residents characterizing the incident as “a serious breach of environmental stewardship and public trust.”

“In this matter, the city failed in its duty to the people of Hamilton, both in protecting our natural environment and in its subsequent handling of the situation,” Horwath said.

“As I’ve said before, there was too much secrecy in this case and not enough disclosure.”