Should the city let raw sewage spill into Cootes Paradise to protect Ancaster homeowners?
The city is looking at building a pipe to allow human sewage to spill into a tributary of Cootes Paradise marsh during historic storms or emergencies - rather than into Ancaster basements.
But some residents are shocked council would consider adding a sewer overflow to Ancaster Creek - especially now that the city is spending millions of dollars cleaning up an infamous 24-billion-litre sewage spill in Cootes Paradise.
Any sewage dumped into the creek will spill over popular Sherman Falls and end up in the recovering Cootes marsh, noted Al Beattie, who recently formed a Friends of Ancaster Creek group. I'm horrified ... I can't believe it," said Beattie, who vowed to marshal opposition if council pursues the plan. It's not the right solution."
The idea of building an emergency overflow pipe to prevent sewer backups in homes on Old Dundas Road was first floated in a 2014 study, but ran into opposition from both regulators and residents.
Ancaster councillor Lloyd Ferguson convinced the public works committee Wednesday to support a motion asking the province to allow the overflow pipe as a final redundancy" to protect homes against megastorms fuelled by climate change.
Council must ratify or reject that decision Friday.
Ferguson said past pumping station failures have repeatedly swamped homeowners. At the end of the day, if those pumps fail, or if there's an endless storm and they can't keep up ... (sewage) will be backing up into basements again."
Jamie Forde has twice watched smelly water rush up into his basement on Old Dundas Road since 2010 - the second time, after he installed a backflow-prevention device. He estimated he has spent $50,000 just on cleanup costs.
Despite those harrowing experiences, he expressed hope an overflow pipe will not be necessary.
If the only choice I had was to have my basement filled with poop or have it pumped into the creek, man, what an ethical dilemma," he said. But seriously, it's 2021. Is pumping raw sewage into the creek really the best we can do?"
City staff have recommended against the pipe, arguing ongoing pumping station and sewer improvements, combined with a new underground sewage capture tank, should protect area homes.
The project could also be harmful to the city's reputation for environmental stewardship," staff noted in an update report to councillors. Allowing the spillage of raw sewage into a tributary of Cootes Paradise and Hamilton Harbour seems counterproductive considering the expenses incurred in restoring these areas," the report reads.
Staff warned councillors to expect pushback from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks - not to mention residents like Beattie and his sister, Catherine, who appealed to the province over the original proposal in 2014.
Both the Niagara Escarpment Commission and Hamilton Conservation Authority are also opposed.
Councillors on the public works committee, however, accepted Ferguson's argument that a catastrophic failure at the sewage pumping station would pollute the creek regardless, so leaving residents unprotected doesn't make sense."
Ferguson also acknowledged the province might reject the city's request. If they're going to turn us down, let them turn us down ... to show that we at least tried," he said.
Matthew Van Dongen is a Hamilton-based reporter covering transportation for The Spectator. Reach him via email: mvandongen@thespec.com