A new report for the City of Hamilton, written by GM Blueplan Engineering, provides dozens of recommendations to clean up sewage contamination of Hamilton’s Chedoke Creek could cost the Ontario city more than $150 million over 14 years.
The GM Blueplan Engineering report offers options for studies, projects, programs and maintenance to the City of Hamilton’s general issues committee sitting on July 5th, as they determine how best to remediate the creek.
The contamination at Chedoke Creek was first disclosed by the City of Hamilton in July 2018 after it discovered that one of its combined sewer overflow tanks was discharging combined sewage into Chedoke Creek. The City immediately stopped the discharge, began clean-up activities in the area, and contacted the Provincial Spills Action Centre.
Since July 2018, the City has been working closely with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) to investigate the incident, respond to Orders related to the spill, and plan for remediation efforts in the Creek and Cootes Paradise.
Currently, the City is working with the MECP and various stakeholders on remediation activities in the watershed. The City has recently submitted a workplan to the MECP outlining targeted dredging activities in Chedoke Creek and a report proposing remediation/mitigation methods for Cootes Paradise and the Western Hamilton Harbour Area.
The short-term work is expected to begin this summer, with the removal of dead algae and placement of small-scale aeration systems near the mouth of Cootes Paradise to guard against the formation of noxious algal blooms.
