The City of Hamilton has been fined $600,000 after storm sewer lines cross-connected with a sanitary sewer discharged hundreds of millions of litres of wastewater into Hamilton Harbour undetected for nearly three decades.
An Ontario court imposed the fine along with a mandatory 25% victim surcharge. The city has also been ordered to pay $80,000 to the Bay Area Restoration Council to support water quality improvements in the harbour and surrounding watershed.
The leak, believed to have begun in 1996, released an estimated 337 million litres of sewage before it was discovered on November 22, 2022, near the intersection of Wentworth Street North and Burlington Street East.
City officials previously said the issue was caused by a hole in a combined sewage pipe, allowing wastewater from some homes to flow directly into a storm sewer that emptied into the harbour.
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In at least one instance, another leak was eventually discovered during a separate maintenance review of old closed-circuit video files.
In a statement issued March 20, the city acknowledged the court’s decision and expressed regret over the environmental impact.
“The City of Hamilton acknowledges the court’s decision regarding these incidents and regrets the impact they had on our community,” a spokesperson said, adding the municipality has taken steps to remediate the problem and strengthen safeguards.
Further investigation in January 2023 uncovered a second leak near Rutherford and Myrtle Avenues. The city said a storm sewer constructed in 1996 had been improperly connected to a century-old combined sewer pipe, resulting in sanitary wastewater from 11 properties being discharged into the harbour.
Hamilton officials say corrective actions have been taken and additional monitoring measures implemented.
“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,” the city said.
The municipality added it remains committed to “continuous improvement, transparency and protecting the environment while delivering essential services residents can rely on.”
