Hamilton reveals volume of 26-year sewage spill at Rutherford Avenue

Following the discovery of another ongoing sewage leak into Hamilton Harbour, the City of Hamilton has released details of the approximate volume of sewage spill originating from the area of Rutherford Avenue and Myrtle Avenue. 

An estimated 59 million litres of sanitary sewage leaked into Hamilton Harbour over the past 26 years, with the spillage contributed to by 11 properties on Rutherford Avenue. 

The City of Hamilton estimates that approximately 59 million litres of sanitary sewage discharged into the Hamilton Harbour over a duration of 26 years from the Rutherford Avenue sewage spill that was discovered earlier this week.

Release>> https://t.co/SXcuvQOTdX #HamOnt

— City of Hamilton (@cityofhamilton) January 13, 2023

The estimate was determined based on the water meter usage data from the 11 properties connected to the combined sewer pipe. 

The spill was discovered during a proactive risk-based inspection pilot program initiated by the city after it was found in November 2022 that sewage had been spilling into Hamilton Harbour for 26 years in the Burlington Street area. 

“As Mayor, I am deeply concerned anytime we find a sewer leak going into Hamilton Harbour,” said Hamilton’s Mayor Andrea Horwath in a release. 

“Learning from the discovery of November’s leak, we are proactively looking for these misconnections in our aging sewer system, and we will continue this work going forward.” 

The spill on Rutherford Avenue was discovered by the city on January 9th, and repairs to the sewer were completed on January 11th. 

Read the full release here. 

Lead image courtesy of Google Maps

Share post

Tags

• city
• environment
• Hamilton
• hamilton harbour
• HamOnt
• Rutherford Avenue
• sewage
• sewage leak
• wastewater