Environment

Millions of Liters of Raw Sewage Into Ottawa River

by Annina Bergman | July 31, 2009 at 02:53 pm

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A steel plate lodged into a sewage pipe has caused millions of liters of sewage to flow into the Ottawa River. 6.5 million liters of raw sewage flooded into the river before city crew were able to remove the plate.

Two beaches close to the spill site were closed as a result of the accident, as the water is not considered safe to swim in.

“It’s unwise to have full body contact with the river,” said Dr. Isra Levy.

The accident came only two days after a storm caused 21 million liters of sewage and rain to flood Ottawa River. The total amount of sewage that has flowed into the river during 2009 now totals 740 million liters. The average annual amount is 400 million liters.

The amount is expected to be much higher because for two hours crews had to divert 100% of the sewage flow into the river to determine where the blockage was.