KAWARTHA LAKES-The Environment Commissioner of Ontario pointed to two fuel oil spills in the City of Kawartha Lakes as evidence that our local waterways continue to be contaminated.
A report called Environmental Protection Back to the Basics was released on Tuesday. It says the Ontario government continues to allow raw sewage to overflow into Ontario lakes and rivers at an alarming rate. The report, written by Dianne Saxe, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, utlines how Ontario’s waters are being poisoned by raw sewage and harmful runoff laden with fertilizer and road salt.
It also looks at how Oil contamination can persist in the soil and groundwater for decades, can migrate long distances through surface water, and can be costly to clean up and cited two home heating spills in the City of Kawartha lakes.
In 2008 a homeowner noticed oil pooling on his basement floor shortly after the oil tanks for his furnace had been filled with 700 litres of heating oil. The oil made its way to a crack in the basement wall and into the soil under the house. Several hundred litres of oil seeped into the soil, onto neighbouring property owned by the city, into drainage culverts and the stormwater sewer system, and ultimately into Sturgeon Lake. The oil damaged 300 metres of shoreline, resulting in a temporary drinking water advisory for those residents.
The homeowner made an insurance claim, but his insurance funds ran out long before remediation was complete. The Ministry of the Environment (controversially) ordered the city to clean up and contain the contamination, at great expense to the city. The remediation – including removing the oil from the shores of Sturgeon Lake, removing over 70 tonnes of contaminated soil from under the house, and demolishing the house in the process – took over a year and cost municipal taxpayers almost $2 million.
In May 2018, almost a decade later, yet another fuel spill of home heating oil occurred in the City of Kawartha Lakes, this time in Balsam Lake. The spill prompted a drinking water advisory for residents in the southern part of the lake, impacting about 100 properties, that lasted over a week while the oil was cleaned up.
In 2017-2018, raw sewage overflowed into southern Ontario waters 1,327 times – 766 of these from 57 outdated municipal sewer systems that combine sewage with stormwater. Saxe added that provincial standards for industrial toxic wastes poured into our waterways are now 25 years old, and are likely outdated.
“It is unbelievable that in 2018, the government allows this much filth into our lakes and rivers,” said Saxe. “These are the places Ontarians spend time with their families, where they swim and fish. These shorelines and waters are home to Ontario’s rich biodiversity, and to us.”
Saxe is also very concerned about the province’s lack of commitment to continue funding for Ontario’s source water protection program. “This program addresses hundreds of significant threats to municipal drinking water sources across the province. It was formed as part of the government’s response to Walkerton’s drinking water crisis 18 years ago.” she said in a press release.
“Through Walkerton’s tragedy, we learned how important it is to be vigilant about protecting sources of drinking water,” said Saxe. “This is no time for the government to turn its back on source water protection.”
The report goes on to say wetlands and woodlands continue to be destroyed by agriculture and development. These areas help filter pollutants from water, reduce flooding, protect against soil erosion, filter our air and provide critical habitat for many of Ontario’s species at risk. Basic ecosystem function requires 30 per cent forest cover, and some parts of Ontario have only three per cent left.
According to Saxe, three quarters of southern Ontario’s wetlands have been lost. Some areas in southwestern Ontario have so little wetlands and woodlands left, they are at serious risk of flooding.
Wildlife diseases can have critical impacts on biodiversity, human health and the economy. Chronic wasting disease is now in deer on our doorstep. Saxe’s report also highlights the work reporting on biodiversity by the Ontario Biodiversity Council.
“Small changes can better protect Ontario’s water, wetlands, woodlands and wildlife,” concluded Saxe. “My report offers sensible solutions. Many cost relatively little and would yield big rewards.”
