Andrew Dreschel: A canoe ban at Cootes Paradise?

In response to health concerns, a Hamilton councillor is proposing to ban popular recreational activities such as canoeing and kayaking in Cootes Paradise and Chedoke Creek.

Sam Merulla believes a legal clampdown will add teeth to the existing public health notices warning people to avoid contact with the water because of high levels of bacteria.

Though posted health warnings indicate swimming, boating, fishing and wading are not permitted, the notices are not enforceable because they aren't backed by any regulatory authority.

Merulla says he's working with the city's licensing and legal staff to look at the feasibility of a bylaw which would expressly forbid such activities.

It's not about fining people, it's about creating awareness," Merulla says.

The warnings have been there for decades and though it might not have been formalized as a bylaw, the reality is it's no secret that the water should not be used for recreational purposes."

Swallowing water with high E. coli counts can cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach pain. Contact contamination can be passed through unwashed hands.

The E. coli counts in Chedoke Creek, which flows into Cootes Paradise in the city's west end, jumped dramatically because of a notorious 24-billion-litre sewage spill which entered the waterway undetected for four years.

The Spectator revealed last November that city council kept the full size of the spill hush-hush for legal reasons, which prompted an outpouring of community anger and an extraordinary public apology from council.

Council recently accepted a study that found Cootes Paradise suffered no long term impacts from the 2014 to 2018 discharge.

But the overall controversy has fixated new attention on the polluted body of water and its wildlife-rich marshlands, which are popular destinations for hikers and canoeists.

Enter Merulla. He notes that Cootes and Chedoke Creek were already heavily contaminated before the scandalous sewer spill. And he argues that even though the water is much healthier than it was 20 years ago thanks to decades of corrective actions by the city, people still need to realize the water is not a safe play area.

Until the science dictates it's OK to be in there, no one should be in there," he says.

The Ward 4 councillor is particularly critical of the Royal Botanical Gardens for running educational and scenic canoe tours of Cootes Paradise - despite posted health warnings that have been in place for years.

Chedoke Creek is owned by the city of Hamilton; the Cootes Paradise nature reserve is owned by RBG, a charitable organization funded by the province, Hamilton and Halton region.

RBG has two canoe launches for Cootes. Its canoe programs normally run from May to August but, as with other RBG programs and sites, they're temporarily closed in response to the COVID-19 emergency.

Though RBG's canoe programs don't include paddling into Chedoke Creek, Merulla points out the existing public health warnings apply to both Cootes and the waterway.

(RBG is) accessing the water knowingly, allowing people to be subjected to that environmental and public health concern," Merulla says.

RBG chief executive officer Mark Runciman finds Merulla's criticisms mindboggling"

We've been operating our core programs which connect people with nature all in accordance with the laws of Ontario and we've always done them in safe conditions and safe ways. So I really don't know where he's coming from."

Noting that Cootes is a big body of very shallow water, Runciman says RBG canoe paddlers stay on the less polluted north side of the marsh and don't go anywhere near Chedoke Creek or its outflow to the harbor.

Runciman is unaware of any accidents or public complaints linked to the canoe programs and acknowledges they form a significant part of RBG's operating revenue.

Though thunderstruck by Merulla's proposal, Runciman says RBG would obey a recreational ban if it wins council's approval.

Obviously, whatever bylaws are out there, we would comply with."

The interesting question is: Will Merulla win council's support or will his colleagues shrug off or perhaps water down their own public health warnings?

Andrew Dreschel's commentary appears regularly in The Spectator. adreschel@outlook.com