BELWOOD — Illegal dumping is the suspected culprit for water contamination discovered heading into Belwood Lake this spring.
According to a report from wastewater services manager Gerry Atkinson, staff believe the "likely source" of contaminant discharge found in a storm sewer on Queen Street in April was illegal dumping into a nearby catch basin.
The investigation follows resident reports of a "petroleum sheen" on the surface of a creek flowing into Belwood Lake on April 11, which was seen in the storm system stretching from a catch basin on Queen Street.
"It appeared that contamination was pushed through the storm sewer system to the outfall by heavy rain," said Atkinson in the report.
To address the issue, Atkinson said containment booms, absorbent pads and bags were set up at the outfall to capture the oil and GFL Environmental Inc. was called in for emergency support to help remove the contaminant from the storm system.
When more oil was discovered on April 30, GFL conducted another clean-up.
"CCTV footage showed no contamination in connecting pipes, indicating possible contamination in the ground surrounding the catch basin or illegal dumping into the catch basin," said Atkinson, in the report.
On the MECP Environmental Officer's request, the township retained XCG/Trace Associates in May to investigate a potential source of contamination on Queen Street.
The township also contacted residents for information about the potential illegal dumping but no responses were received.
"The investigation found no evidence of fuel oil-related contamination in the soil beneath the road allowance," said Atkinson, in the report.
Further monitoring and weekly stormwater sampling throughout May, June, July and August have shown a "decreasing trend" in fuel oil concentrations and by mid-August, no fuel contamination was present, said staff.
The total cost to contain, cleanup and investigate the situation was approximately $82,744, including spill containment materials, sewer flushing, contaminated water disposal at a treatment facility permitted to accept the waste, laboratory sample analyses, and subsurface soil investigation.
The spill was reported to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) Spills Action Centre.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
