Hamilton mayor calls for investigation after sewer leak went undetected for 26 years
Posted November 23, 2022 4:34 pm.
Last Updated November 23, 2022 5:37 pm.
Hamilton’s mayor has called for an investigation after city staff discovered that a pipe had been dumping sewage into the local harbour undetected for almost three decades.
Andrea Horwath said she’s asked the city auditor to be brought in after a preliminary investigation of the leak suggested a contractor put a hole in the pipe in 1996.
According to a statement released by the City the contractor at the time was under the impression that all pipes were storm sewers and were designed to directly connect to box culverts leading out to the harbour.
“I am concerned about the environmental impacts of this spill, and while we are not yet aware of the total volume of sewage released, I have been informed that it was substantial,” Horwath wrote in a statement released Tuesday.
“I was assured that the nature of the spill makes the risk to human health very low.”
Horwath said she has asked the city auditor to investigate how the spill was able to persist for more than 20 years without detection.
“I expect that when that report is completed, it will be publicly released,” she said.
The section of pipe with the hole is in the Burlington Street and Wentworth Street North area.
Around 50 properties are connected to the pipe, but “staff are not currently aware of the exact volume of the discharge,” the City admitted, saying the information would be available after further investigation.
The City says Hamilton Water is taking immediate action to mitigate the spill and protect the environment and that work will continue over the next several days.
Files from Michael Talbot were used in this report
