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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-08-28, Page 10r.,... .r-. _....-............. 10 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, August 28, 2013 Environment: Dying for improvement Debora Van Brenk OMI Agency You flush and forget. But bil- lions of litres of raw or partly treated sewage flows into Ontario's rivers and lakes each year, and Southwestern Ontario cities — led by London and Windsor — are among the worst offenders stud- ied in an environmental watch- dog's new report card on the issue. The report, by the non-profit group Ecojustice, gives London the sec- ond -worst ranking among 12 Ontario cities — just behind Wind- sor — in how they manage sewage and wastewater. While London gets a grade of C -minus, largely because it allows more than 2 per cent of its sewage into its river without full treatment, Sarnia is in the middle of the pack with a C -plus. lbmnto, the nation's largest city, ranked third from the bottom of the list, just behind Lon- don, with a C. "It was disappoint- ing to discover there's still a signifi- cant problem, said Liat Podolsky, a scientist at Ecojustice and the report's maid author. "Billions of litres of sewage are going into the Great Lakes," she said. "It impacts the water quality of the Great Lakes. It limits recreational enjoy- ment. It impacts biodiversity. It shouldn't be happening." The same Great Lakes into which Southwestern Ontario pollution flows also provide much of the region's drinking water. Most of the pollution takes place after heavy rains, when sewage systems are overwhelmed. Diluted but raw sewage flows into water bodies from combined sewer-stonnwater pipes and when partly treated sewage is allowed to flow away rather than back up into basements. The net effect? It's pol- lution that endangers people, plants and animals. One London politician says there just isn't enough cash to completely resolve the issue. "Every municipality has issues and you should never be happy until you have no issues," said Coon. Bud Polhill. "(But) the fact is, there isn't enough money to go around to manage it all." Ile said Londoners are already annoyed their monthly sewer surcharge in many cases exceeds the cost of their water use. "You can make anything perfect as long as you want to spend a lot of money, and as long as it's not yours," he said. London has vastly improved its treatment capacity by installing new technology at its sewage plants, he said. But it's pay- ing now for fixes that were put off 30 years ago. In Windsor, treatment bypasses during wet weather hit 4.4 per cent of its total sewage volumes. Lon- don wasn't far behind, with 2.5 per cern of its total sewage. The report compares a range of municipal sewer and wastewater policies, practices and plans. Ecojustice asked 25 cities for sewer data, but only a dozen provided ft. The Environment Ministry requires the same data, but Podol- sky says it should be publicly Our Weekly Deadlines are as follows: ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL Friday @ 2:00 pm OFFICE HOURS; Mon. & Fri. Sam - 4pm Thurs. & Fri. 9ant - 4pm CLOSED TUESDAYS r C '•• 01, AN. Lau • Lynda Hillman -Rap */ Lakeshore Advance Monster rains that overwhelm Ontario sewer systems dump billions of litres a year of sewage Into the Great Lakes, killing fish and plant life and polluting the same water we rely on for drinking. London is pulling up its socks, but is still a major offender. available. "Until the. ministry ... increases transparency and public engagement," Ontarians will know little about treatment performance, the report says. "'[hat leaves most Ontarians in the dark about the extent of this massive problem and their local communities' contribution:' Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley says he plans to ask staff to put such Information into the pub- lic eye on a regular basis. Ile said the ranking of the dozen cities doesn't reflect how they compare with others in Ontario. "If you decided not to participate, then you're not part of the dis- cussion," he said Wednesday. Even so, he said, Sarnia has just spent $40 million on upgrades as part of an effort to separate its combined storm -sanitary sewers. 'That's just one city, but the problem is far larger than the dozen cities in the Ecojustice report. "1 don't think there's one community of the 440 in Ontario that doesn't have prob- lems as it relates to sewer discharges," Bradley said. Without a Tong -term fund- ing plan, such reports will continue to have similar results, he said. Ontario's environmental commissioner has also raised alarms over the issue, reporting in 2011 that more than 100 Ontario municipalities with combined sewer Cystems allow diluted or raw sew- age to overflow in the Great Lakes. The estimated cost to upgrade civic sewage systems runs in the tens of billions of dol- lars, Podolsky said. Ontario's environmen- tal commissioner estimated the cost of backlogged needed repairs as high as $18 billion just a few years ago. In London, officials say the problem is partly that most homes built before 1985 have weeping tiles connected to storm drains, connected to sewer pipes. Until those are separated, sewer overflows will continue. Sarnia and London each have about 25 km of the combined sewers. Podolsky said there's a link between old cities and big problems. Newer cities -- like Peel Region and York ---- scored well on the report card. "'The communities that are doing well don't have aging infrastruc- ture, she said. New federal regulations will require municipalities to keep closer tabs on their water and wastewater discharges. But upgrades aren't keeping pace with weather changes, Podolsky said. "We're only going to experience more frequent and intense storms. 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