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Petroleum Spill in the Grand River


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your video has nothing to do with the spill

if you see a line across his post

everything above the line is his post

everything below the line is part of his signature

same for anyone who has info in signature

Edited by Terry
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KITCHENER — A complicated cleanup effort is underway after a significant spill of petroleum into the Grand River Friday in Kitchener.


City officials got a call from the Ministry of the Environment late Friday afternoon after a resident called the Spills Action Centre to report a sheen on the water near Forwell Road.


Scott Berry, interim associate director of operations, said the contaminant hasn't been confirmed but it is believed to be some type of petroleum product.


"I would say it's a significant quantity of material, of contaminant just based on what we're seeing on site," he said.


At least 250 metres of the northern shore of the Grand are affected, officials say.


The substance is believed to have come from a storm sewer but officials don't yet know where it originated or if the source is still active.


"Obviously, you want to find out, did somebody intentionally dump something into the system or … if it's happening without anybody knowing that it's happening, then that's something you want to get a handle on as quickly as possible, as well," Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said.


The city is working with the ministry to clean up and investigate the leak, a process that will continue through the week.


Booms have been installed that will absorb the substance from the water's surface.


The storm sewer also has to be remediated.


Cleaning up the shoreline will be the most intensive work, Berry said. The water has receded and the shore must be dug up to remove contaminated soil.


That starts Monday.


About 20 per cent of the local drinking water supply comes from the Grand River.


There is no impact on residents right now, Berry said.


There has been no confirmed impact on wildlife, either. "We've been looking," he said. "We haven't seen any aquatic life.


"Will it impact it? I think any material will impact to some degree. What that impact is I don't think we can say at this point."


While the Grand River Conservation Authority and downstream municipalities were notified when the city learned of the spill, there was no information released to the public until Saturday morning.


Berry said it took that long to get the facts confirmed.


"It was just getting the information from the site," he said. "Also, we wanted to make sure that whatever is released was accurate — and a lot of information wasn't confirmed until this morning when we had more light to deal with it."


City and ministry officials remain on site.


"Our goal is to find the source and to deal with those involved and make sure that it isn't repeated," Berry said. "That's the bottom line.


"That's our priority."


Vrbanovic said this is a reminder to residents about caring for the water system


"The amount we're talking about clearly isn't somebody dumping something from their home or anything but it's also a good reminder to remind people not to dump any contaminants … down their storm sewer because it ends up back in the river," he said.


Anyone with information related to the incident can contact Kitchener's corporate contact centre at 519-741-2345.


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Yikes, that's gonna a nasty and long lasting job, all the way to lawyers and finding/proving fault.

 

Someone or some company is potentially liable for some massive fines. Unfortunately for the City, because the contamination is likely on their soil, they will have to shell out the clean up money and coordinate the cleanup itself until they find fault. The MOE will order the city to clean up if they have to.

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