City of Hamilton faces new charges related to 2 sewage spills discovered in recent years

The City of Hamilton faces provincial charges over two sewage spills that began decades ago and were discovered in recent years.

The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks charged the city with two counts of discharging sanitary sewage in water, the city told CBC Hamilton on Monday.

The city made public the two leaks shortly after they were discovered in 2022 and 2023. 

The first charge is related to a spill near Burlington Street E. and Wentworth Avenue N., that began in September 1996 and was found and fixed in November 2022, the city said.

An estimated 337 million litres of sewage flowed into Hamilton Harbour over the course of 26 years — the waste originating from 50 nearby properties. The city spent close to $30,000 fixing the source of the leak. 

After that discovery, the city launched a pilot program to preemptively check cross-connected pipe sections across Hamilton and stop sewage from leaking into the environment and waterways.

It led to the city finding another spill near Rutherford Avenue and Myrtle Avenue in January 2023 that dated back to 1996, which prompted the second charge from the ministry.

In that case, an estimated 59 million litres of sewage flowed from 11 homes straight into Lake Ontario. It cost the city $37,500 to repair. 

City paid fines for Chedoke Creek spill

At the time, then-environment minister David Piccini described the spills as "absolutely unacceptable" but also praised city officials for sharing their findings with the province and public. 

"I've got to say it's been really refreshing," Piccini told reporters in January 2023. 

The province then issued the city an order to improve the way it inspects its sewage system, which it did by making its pilot program permanent. 

Hamilton has faced other charges related to sewage spills.

Last year it pleaded guilty to allowing 24 billion litres of sewage and stormwater flow into Chedoke Creek between 2014 and 2018, and paid nearly $3 million in fines. 

Hamilton council will be briefed on the new charges during a confidential session at the general issues committee meeting Wednesday, the city said.