Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Students living in a new downtown McMaster University residence are demanding action from the university in Hamilton after ongoing construction has caused a slew of problems from electrical outages, to a bug infestation, to rashes and gastrointestinal issues from contaminated water. In one instance, the tenants’ group at 10 Bay St. says, a female student exited her shower to find a male construction worker in her kitchen.
Trees filter air to reduce smog and pollution, capture and absorb water to prevent flooding, block the sun's rays to reduce heat islands and provide wildlife habitat to support biodiversity, says the city's urban forest strategy. Last month, council approved the city's plan to increase its urban canopy to 40 per cent by 2050, with a focus on planting more trees in areas that are lacking, like downtown, and keeping existing trees healthy.
Stinky water flowing through Gore Park's majestic fountain is unfortunate, but not unusual, say Hamilton residents who stop by regularly. On Monday, the fountain that marks a central spot in Hamilton's downtown was full of greenish-tinged water with bubbles of butter-yellow foam floating on top. "It kind of smells like rotten fish," said Raj Verma, who stood a distance away.
The City of Hamilton is examining the possibility of new relief or rebate programs to help low-income residents amidst a surge in the number of unpaid water bills. Senior policy advisor John Savoie says such arrears have soared in Hamilton in recent years, reaching 20,000 accounts last year with total unpaid amounts hitting $4.4 million. “Unpaid after 60 days, it gets transferred to the property’s tax roll,” said Savoie. “We have seen over the last five years or so, the number and the value of those tax roll transfers have more than doubled.” Savoie added that 90 per cent of last year’s unpaid water bills were residential.
David Galvin's water is running for the first time in nearly three months. The long-awaited repairs to pipes at 1083 Main St. E. in Hamilton began last week. While the water is icy cold, with the hot water not yet connected, Galvin said it's proof of what the tenants have been insisting since late December — the work could be done in a matter of days without anyone having to move out.
Karim said the company charged him "egregiously incorrectly" as if he used all 124,000 litres — enough to fill a mid-sized in-ground pool — in one month. As a result, he said Alectra was applying a higher "Block 2" rate for most of it and overcharging him by almost $200, "which for me is the difference between food and water," he said. When Karim explained the discrepancy to Alectra, he said they agreed they'd incorrectly billed him.
For 57 days David Galvin has had no running water in his Hamilton apartment. He said he hasn't been able to shower there or properly clean his home since the water was shut off Dec. 28. "I'm emotionally and physically debilitated from the stress," Galvin told CBC Hamilton. "I can't sleep. My guts are all out of order." He's lost hope the water will be turned back on anytime soon — for him or the other tenants who have lived there for years, he said.
Residents living without water at a derelict Hamilton apartment building for nearly two months were hoping for relief. Instead, the city has sold them “down the proverbial river,” argues a longtime tenant of 1083 Main St. E. “I’m surprised. I’m appalled. I’m disbelieving. I’m in shock,” David Galvin said Tuesday.
The Office of the City Auditor presented a Hamilton Water Meter Program Audit to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of water metering and billing processes at the City of Hamilton in comparison with industry best practices. The Office of the City Auditor (OCA) engaged the services of a third party, BDO Canada, to conduct the audit, while maintaining oversight. In addition, the OCA completed some additional analysis with respect to the Water Billing Transition Project.
Ontario orders Hamilton to improve sewage monitoring after spill into Lake Ontario. Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has issued a provincial officer order to the City of Hamilton to improve the way it inspects its sewage system, following the discovery of two recent large-scale spills. The two spillways collectively saw an estimated 396 million liters of wastewater flow into Lake Ontario since 1996.
Ontario's Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has issued the City of Hamilton a provincial officer's order to improve the way it inspects its sewage system, after the recent discovery of two massive spills. The two spills saw an estimated combined total of 396 million litres of wastewater flow into Lake Ontario since 1996. The order, issued on Jan. 18, isn't the audit of the entire sewage system that the province's environment minister said in late November he asked for — but the order does criticize the city's current procedures and offers a timeline for the city to review and improve how it monitors its sewage system.
A flood watch is in effect for Hamilton, with higher water levels expected in low-lying areas and area watercourses due to rain on Thursday, Hamilton Conservation Authority (HCA) says. HCA said in a news release the Hamilton area is expected to receive 20 to 26 millimetres of rain. HCA water resources engineer Jonathan Bastien said the main concern is the run-off uncertainty response to the rain.
Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) says it is "highly concerned" to hear about yet another instance of sewage flowing straight into the Hamilton Harbour. This comes after the city of Hamilton announced Monday it learned 11 homes near Rutherford Avenue and Myrtle Avenue in Ward 3 have been flushing their wastewater straight into Lake Ontario since 1996. The exact amount of sewage is unclear.
A London conservationist is hoping people hooked on fishing will use his do-it-yourself receptacles to recycle their lines and keep them from harming wildlife. "It's a lot of litter," said Brendon Samuels, a Western University PhD candidate and coordinator of Bird Friendly London. The tube stations Samuels hopes take of will give fishers a way to recycle their fishing lines after use. The units are designed to keep plastic fishing lines out of London's waters, where fish, animals and birds and get tangled. Small parts such as fishing hooks are also a hazard to smaller animals.
When Kristen Villebrun heard the City of Hamilton recently discovered sewage has been flowing into the harbour for the past 26 years, she was upset. Villebrun said she and other Indigenous water walkers have complained about sewage in the water there for years. "I'm sick of talking and it falling on deaf ears,"said Villebrun, an Anishinaabe woman who is also known as Wassode nibi kwe (Shining Water Woman).
The City of Hamilton estimates 337 million litres of sewage — roughly 135 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of sewage — flowed into the harbour since 1996. That's roughly 13 million litres per year for 26 years. "City staff developed this estimate based on the water meter usage data for all of the properties connected to the combined sewer pipe," read a media release from the city on Monday morning, adding this method was identified as the most accurate way to represent the discharge over the 26 years.
The City of Hamilton says it has just discovered sewage has been leaking into the Hamilton Harbour for 26 years because of a hole in a combined sewage pipe in the industrial sector. It's unclear how much sewage has spilled into the harbour. But Nick Winters, director of Hamilton Water, told reporters on Tuesday afternoon "it's going to be a big number," adding the city will publicly release the number as soon as they have it.
The City of Hamilton is asking the Ontario government to extend the deadline to clean up the sewage in Chedoke Creek by a year — to Dec. 31, 2023 — because of demonstrations from representatives of the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI). It's also asking the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to issue an order to HDI to prevent the group from causing any further disruptions as it tries to meet ministry orders to clean up the 24-billion-litre sewage spill, a leak that took place over four years.
Zahra Tootonsab is in the second year of her PhD program in the Faculty of Humanities’ Department of English and Cultural Studies. Her research focuses on water pollution in Canada and Iran, and how Indigenous knowledges in both places can help inspire environmental activism and promote water security. This year, Tootonsab received a Wilson Leadership Scholar Award, which is part of a leadership development program launched at McMaster by Chancellor Emeritus L.R Wilson. Here, she shares her thoughts on her research and the influences on her work.
Local corn has arrived in stores and farmers markets throughout the Hamilton area. And while growing conditions have been less than ideal, producers remain optimistic for another strong season, thanks to some much-needed rain and extra irrigation. Through July 26, Hamilton had received just 56.3 mm of precipitation for the month, compared to 99.1 mm in July 2021.
