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November
2001 Newsletter
Tales
and Tips From an Avid Red Hill 'Sewer Watcher'
by
Lynda Lukasik
Since
late August, I have taken to hopping on my bike almost every
day and cycling from my east Hamilton neighbourhood down
to the Red Hill Creek. I usually head to the north end of
the Valley where the landscape is lumpy with old landfills
yet full of signs of nature trying to thrive in a recovering
ecosystem. What I have learned through my routine rides
is that old landfills aren't the only problem plaguing the
beleaguered yet beautiful northern stretches of the valley;
storm and combined sewer outfall pipes are doing more than
their fair share of damage to the creek ecosystem here.
Before
I share the lessons I have learned through my sewer-watching
efforts over the past two months, I want to provide a bit
of background into the art of sewer watching.
1.
The first key piece of information for any aspiring
sewer watcher is to understand that the east side of the
valley is serviced by a separated sewer system; storm water
run-off flows into a sewer system that is physically separated
from the sanitary sewer system. The downside of this system
is that these storm flows never make it to the sewage treatment
plant, but are discharged directly into the Red Hill creek,
carrying pesticides, gasoline, oil, and any other contaminants
that we release intentionally or accidentally into our neighbourhood
environments. The upside is that a separated system pipes
sanitary sewage directly to the sewage treatment plant.
However,
the west side of the valley is serviced by combined sewers.
These systems function so that under non-storm conditions,
sanitary flows make it to the sewage treatment plant in
much the same manner that they would in the separated system.
But when there is a storm event, the system is designed
to allow the storm flows to mix with the sanitary flows
and when the volume exceeds the capacity of the pipe system,
the excess discharges directly to the creek via the combined
sewer outfall. This time, however, the discharge is not
just storm water and its associated contaminants, but also
includes raw sewage and other potentially pathogenic elements
associated with sanitary sewage flows. Whether it be via
a combined or storm sewer outfall, the infrastructure has
been designed such that the Red Hill Creek ecosystem must
act as a receptacle for urban wastewater.
 We
can only hope that the creek ecosystem is able to recover
from the impacts of storm events. But my efforts as a sewer
watcher have revealed that the Red Hill Creek is suffering
from the impacts of sewer assaults far more frequently than
should be the case, assuming that we have properly functioning
storm and combined sewer systems on either side of the valley.
Two key observations that have emerged through my regular
sewer visits confirm in my mind that something is very wrong.
These
outfalls flow all of the time - This is a puzzling observation
as both the combined and separated sewer systems should
only be flowing during and for a short time immediately
after a storm event. I have asked city of Hamilton staff
why these outfalls flow all of the time.
The
standard explanation is that these flows are from the infiltration
of groundwater or past re-routing of creeks and streams
into the sewer systems. But after many years of Dr. George
Sorger and his students undertaking water quality monitoring
projects in the Red Hill Creek, we have learned that these
constant flows often contain much more than just water.
Fecal coliform and other contaminants are frequently measured
in the continuous discharges from these pipes. Past water
quality monitoring reports prepared by Dr. Sorger and his
students can be viewed at the Bay Area Restoration Council's
website at www.on.ec.gc.ca/glimr/barc/.
2.
Spills from these outfalls occur frequently —
Since late August, I have been tracking discharges from
the Brampton and Bancroft storm sewer outfalls in the
north end of the Valley. During the months of September
and October alone, I observed that on days when these
sewers should not be flowing at all, there is always a
discharge of water.
I
also discovered that on these same days the Brampton outfall
was discharging waste flows that it should not have been
discharging approximately 40% of the time! In the case
of the Bancroft outfall, the situation was even worse,
with problem discharges occurring over 50% of the time!
I focused strictly on visual observations, looking for
problems with discolouration of the sewer discharge and
the accumulation of oil or other floating material in
the creek near the outfall.
One
of the most striking experiences was at the Bancroft outfall
one day in early September, when a discharge of a fatty,
oily material left a sheen, which covered the entire creek
surface and left an icky sweet smell in the air.
Having
presented the bad news, I want to end here on a note of
optimism. While I have discovered that there are visible
problems with flows coming from many of the storm and combined
sewers which discharge into Red Hill Creek, there are
things that we can all do to see these problems properly
resolved.
If
you see unusual flows discharging from a pipe into the valley,
and if you see these flows during dry weather, then you
are likely witnessed a problem discharge. Given that the
sewer systems are maintained and operated by the City of
Hamilton, the city is responsible for any problem discharges
from these pipes. The city has a 24-hour spills line, which
you can call to report observations of any unusual discharges.
The spills line number is (905) 540-5188 and should be used
any time you see a problem. When you call the line you will
be asked to provide a description of what you saw and where
you saw it. It is also worth asking that the city do a follow-up
call with you so that you can find out what the problem
was and what action was taken to address the problem.
City
of Hamilton's role
My
numerous calls to the city regarding the problems at the
Brampton and Bancroft outfalls led to the installation of
booms to prevent problem substances being discharged from
the outfalls into the creek.
In
the meantime, the city is working to determine the cause
of the many spills to the creek - particularly from the
Bancroft outfall. This has involved doing dye-testing to
confirm whether adjacent businesses and industries are properly
hooked up to the sewer system. Sometimes sewer lines are
not properly connected so that sanitary flows discharge
to the storm sewer system.
While
the city works to resolve the problems here, they have field
officers from the spills office checking many of these outfalls
on a daily basis.
Ministry
of Environment's role
The
Ministry of Environment also has a role to play by ensuring
that the city is properly maintaining and monitoring the
storm and combined sewer systems.
As
was described to me once by an MOE staffer, a municipality's
outfall pipe should be dealt with in the same manner as
a discharge pipe from industry; if there are problem substances
coming out of that pipe, they should be stopped, otherwise
the discharge should not be allowed to continue.
Whenever
I call in to the city's spills line, I also contact the
MOE abatement officer responsible for this area. At the
present time, this person is named Paul Thompson. Paul can
be reached at (905) 521-7730 or via email at paul.thompson@ene.gov.on.ca
. But sometimes I observe spills after hours or on the weekends.
During these times, the MOE's Spills Response Centre should
be contacted. They can be reached at 1-800-268-6060.
The
creek will thank you...
Sewer
watching is a useful way to encourage the city of Hamilton
to monitor and maintain its storm and combined sewer outfalls.
The Red Hill Creek stands to benefit from any reductions
in problem discharges from these pipes. The next time you
head down to enjoy the valley, be sure to keep an eye out
for the sewer pipes. A quick phone call is all it takes
if you see anything unusual. The creek will thank you for
your efforts!
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