The City of Hamilton says it remains committed to improving wastewater and stormwater systems after being slapped with a $600,000 fine for sewage leaking into the Hamilton Harbour for 26 years. 

On Friday, a provincial court issued the fine after the city pleaded guilty before justice of the peace Alexander Andres. 

Andres accepted a guilty plea for the leak that was discovered in 2022, and saw millions of gallons of sewage being discharged into the harbour.

Crown counsel Amanda Landre, appearing on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, read an agreed statement of facts in court.

Landre said on Nov. 22, 2022, staff from the City of Hamilton reported to the ministry that a hole had been discovered in a combined sewage pipe that was causing the discharge of combined sewage — sanitary and storm — directly to Hamilton Harbour through a storm sewer.

She said the sewage spill was discovered when a City of Hamilton employee was reviewing video footage of a sewer maintenance hole that had been taken in 2013. 

“Due to concerns about what was observed in the footage, City of Hamilton staff attended the location to investigate and confirmed that a hole knocked into the bottom of the combined sewer was causing a discharge of sanitary sewage to the storm sewer that then discharged to Hamilton Harbour,” Landre said.  

“The affected combined sewer pipe was located at the intersection of Burlington Street E. and Wentworth Street N., [and] was connected to a storm sewer that discharged into the harbour through a submerged outfall located at the end of Wentworth Street N.” 

Vacuum truck used to collect sewage

According to the statement, the city immediately stopped the sanitary sewage discharge to the harbour the same day the leak was discovered, by containing and continuously collecting it using a vacuum truck. 

“This was maintained until the necessary sewer repairs were completed to eliminate the cross connection on Nov. 23, 2022,” Landre said.

The City of Hamilton investigated the incident and later reported to the ministry that the hole in the combined sewer at Burlington Street E. and Wentworth Street N. were suspected to have been made during a road work construction project that occurred in 1996, the statement reads. 

“A set of construction drawings for the project directed for a storm sewer pipe to be connected to another storm sewer. However, the drawing incorrectly labelled one of the pipes as a storm sewer pipe, when in fact it was a combined sewer pipe,” Landre said.

“Approximately 50 commercial and residential properties in the catchment area had been discharging into the combined sewer pipe.” 

Based on municipal water usage records for the involved properties, Landre said the total volume of the sanitary sewage spill was estimated to be approximately 337 million litres over approximately 26 years. 

2nd cross-connection sewer identified

Landre told the court that on Jan. 9, 2023, the City of Hamilton identified a second cross-connected sewer during an inspection.

That cross-connected sewer was located at the intersection of Rutherford Avenue and Myrtle Avenue and also discharged directly to Hamilton Harbour through the outfall located at the end of Wentworth Street N., she said. 

Once again, the city immediately reported the sanitary sewage spill to the ministry, and stopped the sewage discharge by containing and continuously collecting it using a vacuum truck, Landre said. This was maintained until the necessary sewer repairs were completed to eliminate the cross connection on Jan. 11, 2023. 

Certainly this was a very significant spill that occurred over a very long period of time.– Crown counsel, Amanda Landre

She said a ministry surface water scientist concluded that the sanitary sewage spills would have contributed to water quality impairment in Hamilton Harbour.

“Therefore, during the period beginning on or about Sept. 1, 1996, and ending on Nov. 23, 2022, the City of Hamilton did commit the offence of discharging or causing or permitting the discharge of a material, namely sanitary sewage, into or in any waters, namely Hamilton Harbour, which may impair the quality of the water, contrary to section 30, subsection one of the Ontario Water Resources Act,” said Landre.

The City of Hamilton was charged with two counts of “discharging sanitary sewage into water,” but the second charge for January 2023 was withdrawn.

Roslyn Cooper, counsel for the City of Hamilton, pleaded guilty on the city’s behalf for the remaining charge — giving up their right to a trial.

The city and the ministry made a joint submission to the court for a fine of $600,000, as well as payment of $80,000 to the Bay Area Restoration Council, a charitable organization in Hamilton involved with the Hamilton Harbour remediation action plan.

Andres gave the city 60 days to pay the $80,000 to the Bay Area Restoration Council, and two years to pay the $600,000.

With respect to the amount of the fine, Landre said the Crown has considered the relevant factors set out in the legislation and jurisprudence with respect to similar sentences that have been imposed in matters for these types of offences, as well as any aggravating and mitigating facts that do exist. 

“I mean, certainly this was a very significant spill that occurred over a very long period of time, a very substantial amount of sewage being discharged.”

City ‘regrets’ impact on community

Responding to the fine, a city spokesperson said the City of Hamilton acknowledges the court’s decision regarding these incidents and “regrets the impact they had on our community.”

“We take this matter seriously and have taken immediate steps to remediate the situation and strengthen safeguards to help prevent similar incidents in the future, and remain committed to improving our wastewater and stormwater systems,” James Berry wrote in an email to CBC News.

“As part of this work, Hamilton Water continues to proactively inspect and investigate the City’s sewer system to identify risks and respond quickly to potential issues.”

According to Berry, more than 1,700 inspections have been completed across the city’s sewer system since these incidents were identified, with no additional improperly connected sewers found.

He said the city remains “committed to continuous improvement, transparency and protecting the environment,” while delivering essential services residents can rely on.

Landre said the City of Hamilton has had a cross connection inspection program in place for its separate sewer system since 2002, but prior to December 2022, there was no inspection program to identify potential cross connections in the combined sewer system.