Chedoke Creek Contamination (2014-2019)

According to the City of Hamilton, “A station bypass gate in the combined sewer overflow tank that should have been in a closed position appears to have been manually opened to approximately five per cent. An error in computer programming showed this as normal operation and, as such, this error remained undetected until July 2018.”

According to an article published in Chatelaine, Wendy Bush and Kristen Villebrun made a report to the Ministry of the Environment that there was evidence of sewage in the harbour (including fecal matter, needles, and tampon applicators) following a wind storm on September 28.

According to an article published by CBC Hamilton, “Two women frustrated with the city’s inaction on sewage debris washing up on the shores of Bayfront Park took matters into their own hands this weekend – by spending most of it floating in a raft on the water in protest.”

An article published by Great Lakes Commons details what happened on the walk.

According to the City of Hamilton, “A second gate that should have remained in the open position experienced a mechanical failure. The sensor on this piece of equipment did not pick up the failure and was reporting normal operation.”

According to an article in The Hamilton Spectator, “a series of bacteria-ridden water samples over several weeks set off ‘alarm bells’ for Royal Botanical Gardens officials responsible for Cootes Paradise marsh. The RBG alerts the City of Hamilton.”

According to the City of Hamilton, “Reports of water quality issues start to come in from residents and community partners. Public Health and Public Works staff initiate initial investigations at Chedoke Creek. This includes water quality samples, CCTV inspection for all sewers in the area and at all wastewater facilities with potential overflows into Chedoke Creek.”

According to a Provincial Officer’s Order (1-J25YB), “On July 6, 2018, the Spills Action Center received a public complaint regarding the presence of sewage odours and plastic debris, similar to what is expected in raw sewage waste that may enter a sewage treatment plant, within Chedoke Creek along Desjardin Recreational Trail at Princess Point in the City and forwarded complaint to the Hamilton District office.”

According to a Provincial Officer’s Order (1-J25YB), “On July 11, 2018 the Hamilton Conservation Authority took samples in the Chedoke Creek watershed at several locations for E. coli and human/bovine bacteria markers in order to try to isolate the section of Chedoke Creek where the discharge was occurring and determine the source of contamination. Sample results showed high concentrations of E.coli and bacteria readings consistent with human bacteria. Resampling was conducted on July 18, 2018 by the Hamilton Conservation Authority with same results.”

According to the City of Hamilton, “Public Health Services issues a media release to warn the public to avoid any contact with Chedoke Creek and adjoining waterways.”

According to a Provincial Officer’s Order (1-J25YB), inspections were conducted at Kay Drage Park and Chedoke Creek on July 16, Glen Road/Chedoke Creek on July 17, and upstream of the Chedoke Creek outfall on July 18.

As stated in a Provincial Officer’s Order (1-J25YB) – “Resampling was conducted on July 18, 2018 by the Hamilton Conservation Authority with same results.”

According to a Calder Engineering Ltd. report, the inspection work was completed on the morning of July 18, 2018. A summary of this report was detailed in a Provincial Officer’s Order (1-J25YB), which stated, “Removal of floating material from Chedoke Creek started on July 18, 2018 and clean up work was proposed by City staff to continue as needed with daily inspection and sampling. Preliminary reports from the City showed the gate valve had been open since January 29, 2014. The estimated volume of sewage discharged to the creek from January 29, 2014 until the gate valve was fully closed is 15.9 Giga Liter (15.9 million m3).”

According to an article by CBC Hamilton, “On Friday the city updated its chronology to include a formal information update that was sent to council on July 27, 2018.” The City of Hamilton’s timeline clarifies that this was sent via email from the City Solicitor. 

This order detailed the duration of the spill (more than 4 years) and most of the spill’s magnitude (15.9 billion litres). According to an article in The Hamilton Spectator, “The province ordered the city to do an ecological impact assessment and come up with a remediation plan for the spill – and to post the order in a ‘conspicuous place.’ The city put the order in a staff-only treatment plant control room and did not tell the public.”

This was reported in an article by CBC Hamilton.

This is the first time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Collins, Conley, Farr, Ferguson, Green, Jackson, A. Johnson, B. Johnson, Merulla, Partridge, VanderBeek.

This is the second time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Collins, Conley, Eisenberger, Farr, Ferguson, Green, Jackson, A. Johnson, B. Johnson, Merulla, Partridge, Pasuta, Pearson, VanderBeek, Whitehead.

This is the third time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. The name of the report has now been changed from “Chedoke Creek Contamination” to “Potential Regulatory Litigation”. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Anderson, Conley, Eisenberger, Farr, Ferguson, Green, Jackson, Merulla, Partridge, Pasuta, Pearson, VanderBeek, Whitehead.

A report written by Wood estimates that the total amount of mixed raw sewage that entered the local waterways was 24 billion litres.

A report written by Hatch details the condition of the 9 of the City’s Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) facilities. The report details a number of important recommendations “to improve the reliability of operation and monitoring of each of the CSO facilities”. An additional 4 CSO facilities are inspected on November 7, 2018. Additional recommendations are made.

A report written by Wood details the potential costs for preliminary remediation at $2.1 million. The full report is completed on January 24, 2019.

This is the fourth time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Clark, Collins, Eisenberger, Farr, Ferguson, Jackson, Johnson, Merulla, Nann, Pauls, Pearson, VanderBeek, Whitehead, Wilson.

This is the fifth time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Clark, Collins, Danko, Eisenberger, Farr, Ferguson, Jackson, Johnson, Merulla, Nann, Partridge, Pauls, Pearson, VanderBeek, Wilson.

A report written by Wood details reasons for suggesting why dredging should be part of the remediation plan and recommends costs associated with carrying out preliminary remediation.

A report written by SLR contradicts some of the findings in the Wood report, especially that dredging would be necessary. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP) eventually sides with Wood’s analysis and asks that the City include dredging in its final remediation plans.

This was reported in an article by CBC Hamilton.

This is the sixth time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Danko, Eisenberger, Farr, Ferguson, Johnson, Merulla, Nann, Pearson, VanderBeek, Wilson.

This is the seventh time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Clark, Collins, Danko, Eisenberger, Farr, Jackson, Johnson, Merulla, Nann, Partridge, Pauls, Pearson, VanderBeek, Wilson.

This is the eighth time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Clark, Farr, Johnson, Nann, Pearson, VanderBeek, Whitehead; opposed to this were (in alphabetical order) Danko, Wilson.

This is the ninth time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Clark, Collins, Danko, Eisenberger, Farr, Ferguson, Jackson, Johnson, Merulla, Pearson, VanderBeek, Whitehead; opposed to this were (in alphabetical order) Nann, Wilson.

This is the tenth time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Clark, Collins, Danko, Jackson, Johnson, Merulla, Nann, Partridge, Pauls, VanderBeek, Whitehead; opposed to this were (in alphabetical order) Wilson.

This is the eleventh time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Clark, Collins, Danko, Eisenberger, Ferguson, Johnson, Merulla, Partridge, Pearson, VanderBeek, Whitehead; opposed to this were (in alphabetical order) Nann, Wilson.

This is the twelfth time that City Council voted to keep information about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Danko, Farr, Ferguson, Jackson, Merulla, Partridge, Pauls, Pearson, VanderBeek; opposed to this were (in alphabetical order) Wilson.

According to an article in The Hamilton Spectator, “The confidential report to council on Jan. 16, along with a second one on Sept. 4, show city staff have been recommending that details of the spill be kept secret from the public as long as possible because of potential legal action the city could face. The two reports, obtained by The Hamilton Spectator, state Ontario’s environment ministry is investigating the massive spill, which could lead to charges.”

Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Sandy Shaw speaks in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and asks Premier Doug Ford about the contamination of Chedoke Creek and Cootes Paradise. MPP Shaw also wrote a letter to MECP Minister Jeff Yurek.

According to the eventual Director’s Order (1-MRRCX), the City’s external legal counsel, environmental lawyer Rosalind Cooper, submitted a request for the Director to review the orders issued by the Provincial Officer.

MPP Sandy Shaw asked for detailed records, reports, field notes, communications, and water sampling data related to this ecological disaster. MPP Shaw is still waiting for her request to be fulfilled.

Ratification of General Issues Committee Report 19-024 is the thirteenth time that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of this were (in alphabetical order) Clark, Danko, Eisenberger, Farr, Ferguson, Jackson, Johnson, Nann, Pauls, Pearson, VanderBeek, Whitehead, Wilson.

Formal reports (d) and (e) being kept confidential are the fourteenth and fifteenth times that City Council voted to keep a report about the contamination of Chedoke Creek confidential. In favour of keeping both reports confidential were (in alphabetical order) Clark, Danko, Eisenberger, Farr, Ferguson, Jackson, Johnson, Pauls, Pearson, VanderBeek, Whitehead; opposed to this were (in alphabetical order) Nann, Wilson.

For the first time since the Ministry began its July 2018 investigation, the HCA Board is informed, in an email, that Chedoke Creek had been contaminated

Cameron Kroetsch launches a petition calling for a public inquiry (it received more than 3,000 signatures).