Kingston Whig-Standard
Kingston’s sewage scandal
by Paul Schliesmann, Editor
Standing on the shores of the Cataraqui River, the executive director of the Environmental Bureau of Investigation, Mark Mattson, observed: “This is the first time I’ve actually seen raw sewage flowing into Lake Ontario.”
Well, Mr. Mattson, welcome to Kingston, home of the chronically overflowing sewage plants and leaching garbage dump at Belle Park. And now, as Mattson saw for himself, the storm sewer pipe, next to Belle Park, flushing excrement and toilet debris directly into the Cataraqui, headed for downriver destinations Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.
On the same day Mattson was making his observations, Justice Dennis O’Connor was at City Hall conducting post-Walkerton water tragedy hearings into the quality of drinking water in Ontario communities. The inquiry is largely concerned with how drinking water is treated and processed for consumption.
Kingston desperately needs work done to stop the pollution spilling into its surrounding rivers and lakes. By allowing raw sewage to flow into Lake Ontario, the City of Kingston is spoiling its primary source of household drinking water.
The source of this toilet waste must be found and shut down immediately.
Environmental Bureau of Investigation 