Niagara residents voice concerns over recurring oily runoff in Welland River

Residents in Niagara Falls are concerned about what’s being dumped or leaking into the Welland River near Chippawa.

Residents describe it as an oily sheen and a milky substance flowing into the river and say it’s happening too often.

Mike Cushman and his grandson Kaiden say they’re worried about what was found, “I believe it of some sort it looks like machine coolant that’s used, but there’s also an oil residue that’s a separate issue altogether. I feel that there are two or three different factories in this area that are dumping different chemicals at different times,” said Mike.

It’s not known what the substance is, where it’s coming from, or if it’s being dumped on purpose or by accident, but this is not a one-time occurrence according to Niagara Falls city councillor Lori Lococo.

“This has been happening over the last couple of years. We wanna make sure that it doesn’t happen every single year,” says Lococo.

Back in July, the Ministry of the Environment was called in to investigate and is currently working with the city to get to the bottom of the spill, with a meeting held this past Thursday.

Mike says the ministry is taking too long to get to the bottom of the spill. “We need to stop doing this, and learn from our past so we can fix it for our children and grandchildren.”

“We have a limited source of environmental resources and make sure that it’s healthy. We have people that boat along the Welland River, that swim, and kayak. It is for your health, its recreation, it is very important,” stated Lococo.

Councillor Lococo says once the investigation is complete, she’s hoping there will be some public consultations.

PROVINCIAL RESPONSE

According to the Ontario government it received two reports on Sept. 6 indicating that an oily substance was observed discharging to the Welland River.

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks notified the City of Niagara Falls as the owner and responsible operator of stormwater infrastructure, which discharges to an unnamed creek which flows into the Welland River.

In response, the city retained a contractor who undertook cleanup of the material on the evening of Sept. 6.

A government official told CHCH that the city’s contractor “continues to monitor and clean up material found leaving the municipal storm sewer and that those results are pending.”

The City reported that the discharges are likely related to extensive work completed on the storm sewer in recent years which “may be contributing to material being dislodged during heavy rains and watermain flushing occurring in the area.”

The Ministry said it is working with local area industries to “ensure they understand their obligations under environmental legislation to regularly inspect their waste storage areas and catch basins to prevent the off-site discharge of materials from their properties into the natural environment.”