Ford government demands Hamilton to audit entire sewage system

As the City of Hamilton continues to look into the 26-year-long sewage leak, the Ford government is now demanding city hall do an audit of its entire sewage system.

The city says it discovered the spillage on Tuesday that was draining into a stormwater line directed to Hamilton Harbour, adding the connection was done by mistake in 1996.

The city says the sewage leak at Burlington and Wentworth Street has been repaired but in the wake of the discovery of the spillage spanning 26 years, Ontario’s ministry of environment and the Ford government says more needs to be done.

“Questions need to be answered to the citizens of Hamilton, about the serious problems related to our water infrastructure and environmental safety standards, should not take two decades to address,” Flamborough-Glanbrook MPP Donna Skelly said.

In an interview with CHCH News, environment minister David Piccini says the job must be done, “immediately upon learning about this latest spill and speaking with the mayor of Hamilton, I’ve instructed my ministry to require Hamilton to audit its entire sewer system and come up with a remediation plan so we can end this mess.”

Wednesday, Hamilton Water head Nick Winters said contractors at the time of the incident had the wrong information, thinking both sewers were stormwater only.

Winters says the sewer system is 2,100 kilometeres long. Mayor Andrea Horwath says it won’t be an easy task for the city alone. “I’m looking forward to speaking with the minister of how we can get it done quickly.”

The City of Hamilton responded today saying “the city has not received an order from the MECP at this time, but in the event that the city does receive an order, will be happy to speak about it at that time.”

Hamilton Water says it’s still determining how much sewage has made its way into the city’s industrial harbourfront and its environmental impact.

The ministry of environment in Ottawa tells CHCH News today that they’ve assigned an enforcement officer to this incident but wouldn’t provide details regarding their involvement.

The City of Hamilton tweeted that repair and realignment work was completed last night and sewage is no longer flowing out into the harbour.