N.Y. board tells Gates: Canadian sewers overflow, too
The Niagara Falls, N.Y., Water Board says it shares Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates’ concerns about sewage discharges contaminating the Niagara River.
It also reminded him those discharges aren’t coming only from the American side of the river.
In a letter to Gates sent Friday and shared with The Niagara Falls Review, water board chairman Daniel O’Callaghan said his agency is “working closely with its regulators, elected officials and others to do everything possible to improve water quality in the Niagara River.”
He added: “We would also like to draw your attention to sewage overflows emanating from Ontario, Canada” and said the water board wants to know what he’s doing to reduce raw or partially treated sewage from being discharged into waterways here.
O’Callaghan said that in 2017, Niagara Region’s pollution control system in Niagara Falls, Ont. discharged 834 million litres of raw or partially treated sewage into the hydro canal — and eventually the Niagara River — when heavy rain overwhelmed the system.
In comparison, the plants in Niagara Falls, N.Y., overflowed about 945 million litres during the same period, directly into the river.
“The scope of the problem is similar, with the biggest difference being that the Canadian discharges are less visible than those of the water board because of the locations where they enter the Niagara River,” O’Callaghan wrote.
“Accordingly, we look forward to seeing you become more active in addressing this issue in the territory that you represent.”
Gates’ initial criticism followed reports the U.S. system spilled 36 million litres of untreated waste and stormwater into the river during heavy rainfall over two days in late August — enough to fill 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Gates complained to Ontario Environment Minister Rod Phillips about what he called the “continual discharge of wastewater” into the river from Niagara Falls, N.Y.
He also called on provincial, state and federal officials in both countries to improve systems on both sides of the river to prevent those overflows.
One discharge from the American side gained international attention in July 2017.
An operator error while draining a sedimentation plant led to foul-smelling, dark water collecting around the Maid of the Mist docks in the U.S.
The Niagara Falls Water Board was later fined $50,000 by New York state over that incident.
The board is implementing at US$27-million plan to expand its water treatment system to reduce future discharges into the river.