Posted on July 12, 2023
After a year of dispute and negotiations with First Nation consultation, the City of Hamilton’s water division says crews will continue the cleanup at Chedoke Creek on July 17. Dredging will resume along the creek between the bridges at Kay Drage Park and the Desjardins Trail. The city says the cleanup will be completed before its provincial deadline in the fall.
The aim of the targeted dredging is to restore the impacts of the 24 billion litre raw sewage leak that occurred between Jan. 2014 and July 2018.
Nick Winters, Director at Hamilton Water says most of the early work will be clearing out debris like rocks and trees from the water. To follow, its hydraulic dredger and a floating pipeline will begin removing waste, a job they say will be completed in three and a half months prior to the extended provincial deadline of Oct. 31.
The $6 million initiative was delayed last summer after members of the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) interrupted the work site, saying they were exercising treaty rights.
Disruptions prompted contractors to pull operations due to safety concerns and the Haudenosaunee led-group called for proper consultation when negotiating environmental monitoring. Ontario’s Ministry of Environment granted an extension and the controversy was settled in the spring.
“We don’t anticipate any additional disruptions. The HDI technical staff are engaged in the project, they’ve been trained to participate and attend site as environmental monitors, and they’ve provided some great feedback,” Winters said.
The City of Hamilton says they will continue to dredge beyond the Desjardins bridge and will continue about 100 metres further. They say there will be a short trail closure in the area to move the machinery but no date has been set for that yet.
