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September
2002 Newsletter
Ravaging
Red Hill
by
Lynda Lukasik
 Environment
Hamilton recently released the results of a study of
combined and storm sewer outfalls discharging into the main
channel of the Red Hill Creek and the Hannon and Buttermilk
Creek tributaries. The study was released at the same time
that the city was required to submit a similar study to
the Ministry of the Environment (MOE). In December of 2001,
the MOE ordered the city to analyse the discharge from every
outfall into the creek after investigating a series of citizen
complaints regarding problem discharges. The MOE orders
also require that the city propose and implement resolutions
to any problem discharges identified.
The
city's failure to do this by the deadline set in August
combined with its failure to request an extension to that
August deadline has resulted in the referral of this case
to the MOE's Investigation and Enforcement Branch.
This
underscores the fact that municipalities are legally obligated
to ensure that they are not allowing problem discharges
from their sewer systems into the natural environment. During
periods between major storm events, these outfalls should
not be discharging contaminants to local waterways. The
MOE has the power to require the city to take action to
rectify any problems and this is precisely what the MOE
is doing through these orders.
Environment
Hamilton's sampling work was done during drought conditions,
providing us with an ideal opportunity to confirm whether
sewer outfalls were functioning properly. Under these conditions
we should not have seen any visible discharges, and we certainly
should not have found any contaminants in outfall discharges.
Instead, our own sampling confirmed that all of these discharge
points except for one had bacterial contamination beyond
allowable levels for recreational use of a waterway. Discharges
were as high as 160 times above allowable levels for E.
coli. We found these levels at a storm sewer outfall bearing
no warning sign to the public of this contamination hazard.
 Over
the years, the city has argued that building the Red Hill
Creek Expressway will actually improve the creek ecosystem
here. It is a silly assertion that becomes ridiculous in
light of Environment Hamilton's findings regarding the present
state of combined and storm sewer outfall discharges. Anyone
with any sense will realize that the most important thing
the city can do to improve the health of the Red Hill Creek
is to rectify the on-going problems that the city itself
is causing as a result of years of neglect of the storm
and combined sewer systems that feed into this waterway.
Right
now, the city is arguably violating provincial law and is
subsequently vulnerable to charges and potential fines.
The
construction of an expressway will not fix this serious
problem, rather, it continues to divert precious tax dollars
away from the resolution of these severe sewer infrastructure
problems.
The
saga of Red Hill Creek's combined and storm sewer outfalls
continues with the City of Hamilton's recent release of
its comprehensive analysis of all discharge points to the
creek.
A
recent meeting between Environment Hamilton and Lou
Di Gironimo — the director of the city's water and
wastewater division — offered a useful opportunity
to share information and concerns about the Red Hill situation.
Fellow staff member Julie Brezden and I listened intently
as Di Gironimo provided an overview of the city's findings
— which confirmed levels of E. coli beyond the city's
threshold limit in dry weather conditions approximately
55 per cent of the time, in low rainfall conditions 93 per
cent of the time, and in medium rainfall conditions 67 per
cent of the time.
 We
learned that the threshold limit used by the city for their
analysis of storm and combined sewer discharges is a whopping
2400 E. coli or total coliform per 100 millilitres of water
— the threshold limit for discharges of fecal coliform
into the storm sewer system as set out in the city's sewer
use bylaw.
Environment
Hamilton's more limited analysis of discharges to Red
Hill Creek used the provincial limits for allowable levels
of E. coli and total coliform in waters used for recreational
purposes as the threshold.
These
provincial limits are 100 E. coli per 100 millilitres of
water and 1000 total coliform per 100 millilitres of water.
When you apply the tougher provincial limit for recreational
waters, the city's findings are far worse with E. coli discharges
into Red Hill exceeding the provincial limit 82 per cent,
93 per cent, and 93.5 per cent of the time in dry, low and
medium rainfall conditions respectively.
This
comparison makes me wonder why the city is using such a
high threshold for bacteria discharges from sewer outfalls.
Other Ontario municipalities have adopted much tougher thresholds;
Brantford, Ottawa, and Toronto have set a limit of 200 coliform/100
millilitres for discharges into the storm system —
a level 12 times lower than Hamilton's threshold!
As
Di Gironimo pointed out to us, the city will be reviewing
and updating its sewer use bylaw in 2003 and not a moment
too soon as far as I am concerned.
In
the meantime, the evaluation of the effluent being discharged
from Red Hill outfalls must acknowledge the outdated nature
of this 2400 coliform limit. Even better, the city's evaluation
should acknowledge the fact that the Red Hill Creek meanders
through our largest urban park and, therefore, is a recreational
waterway for which the even tougher provincial limits should
be met. I can recall countless occasions where I have seen
children up to their armpits playing in the creek's waters.
To
the city's credit, Di Gironimo expressed some very forward-thinking
perspectives on how the city plans to manage our storm and
combined sewer outfalls. I certainly look forward to the
evolution of his department's vision of a pro-active approach
to ensuring that these outfalls are properly monitored and
maintained into the future.
Our
meeting also ended on a positive note in that we have agreed
to continue to meet to discuss the city's progress in rectifying
the problems along Red Hill Creek.
In
the meantime, I indicated that we will continue to help
by calling in any problems we see along Red Hill or any
other waterway in the city.
As
a Red Hill Valley supporter, you can help too. If you see
a problem discharge flowing from an outfall into the Red
Hill Creek call the city's 24-hour Spills Line at 905-540-5188.
The general rule of thumb while in the valley is that most
pipes should not flow in dry weather conditions. Once you
start to track pipes, you'll learn that most of them do
flow all of the time. Another rule to keep in mind is that
all of the pipes on the east side of the main channel of
Red Hill Creek are storm sewer outfalls. These outfalls
should only flow during storm events and they should only
discharge stormwater. So, if you smell sewage around one
of these outfalls, or if you see sanitary pads or condoms
hanging from the grates in front of these outfalls, these
are sure signs that an outfall is discharging sanitary flow.
This is the result of an illegal hook-up or crumbling infrastructure.
Either way, it's bad news as far as water quality impacts
in the creek go.
You
should also report any problems you see to the Ministry
of the Environment at 905-521-7650 during regular office
hours (Monday to Friday from 9am until 4:30pm). After hours,
you can call the Ministry's Spills Action Centre at 1-800-268-6060.
The
more eyes and ears we have out there, the more likely we'll
have a safe, clean Red Hill valley to enjoy for generations
to come.
For
more information on Environment Hamilton's report
'Ravaging Red Hill', visit the organization's website at
www.environmenthamilton.org.
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