Feds invest over $29M to complete Hamilton Harbour’s Randle Reef project

The Canadian government is investing $29.2 million to begin the third stage of the Randle Reef Remediation Project, which strives to restore the ecosystem health of the Hamilton Harbour.

The funds will support the installation of a multi-layered environmental cap to isolate contaminants in the 60-hectare site located in the southwest corner of the harbour.

“The specially-designed cap for the Engineered Containment Facility will collect, and safely remove, any remaining contaminated water, provide drainage for the surface layer, and allow for the consolidation of the sediment over time,” said a spokesperson for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

Federal minister Filomena Tassi made the announcement at the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority on Wednesday, alongside Burlington MP Karina Gould, Hamilton Mountain MP Lisa Hepfner, Hamilton East–Stoney Creek MP Chad Collins, and Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath.

In 1985, the harbour was deemed an Area of Concern under the Canada–United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement due to poor water quality, loss of fish and wildlife habitat, and contaminated sediment, fish and wildlife populations.

READ MORE: The Randle Reef remediation project will move to its third and final stage

The area contains approximately 695,000 cubic metres of sediment contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other toxic chemicals as a result of past industrial processes dating back to the 1800s, including coal gasification, petroleum refining, steel making, municipal waste, sewage, and overland drainage.

During the first phase of the $138-million Randle Reef remediation project, a large container was built on top of the most contaminated area of the harbour. The containment facility has a surface area of seven football fields.

Phase two involved dredging of the area outside of the containment facility, sucking up the sediment, and bringing it inside of the holding tank.

The third and final portion of the project includes extracting contaminated water, treating it, and depositing it back in the water, among other tasks.

The entire project is expected to be completed in the late summer of 2025.

READ MORE: Randle Reef clean up enters next phase