A mystery pollutant has once again been found near a stormwater outlet near the Sturgeon River, and the city suspects it came from Rayborn Crescent.
A mystery pollutant has once again been found near a stormwater outlet near the Sturgeon River, and the city suspects it came from Rayborn Crescent.
The city’s office of the environment and sustainability issued a report Tuesday afternoon about an unidentified greyish substance found in the retaining pond by Outfall No. 3 near the BMX track in the Riel Industrial Park last Oct. 20.
A similar substance was found at this same site on Sept. 24.
Long-time city resident Lilo Engler said she notified the city of the spill on Oct. 20. “I walk there every day,” she said, and she noticed the spill almost immediately. “I smelled it right away.”
Engler, 76, said she initially spotted the spill on about Oct. 15, but didn’t notify anyone since she thought someone else had reported it. As the spill worsened over the following days, she alerted several city councillors and river watchers about it.
Engler described the substance as turquoise or grey, with the scent of sewage. “It seemed like a grey slime on top of (the water). It looked awful.” The slime appeared to develop over several days, she noted, and seemed to dampen the smell. She did not see any of the fluid flowing out of the outfall.
Crews have sent samples of the fluid for analysis, said city environmental manager Leah Kongsrude, and expect results before the end of the week.
“It looks very similar to what we had in September,” she said, and she suspected it was the same substance. She also suspected this was a fresh dump of the stuff, as there was too much of it to be leftovers from September’s spill.
None of the substance has reached the Sturgeon River, Kongsrude said. Crews are waiting on test results to see if they have to pump out the pond again. Environment Canada and Alberta Environment have been notified of the spill.
Engler, who watched crews as they cleaned up last September’s spill, criticized the city for not doing more to find those responsible for it. “This river flows right into the North Saskatchewan,” she said, and on to Lake Winnipeg. “They should have absolutely made sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Signs point to Rayborn
Tests of the September spill revealed that it had high levels of aluminium, iron, chromium and zinc, each of which was slightly or significantly above the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment’s (CCME) guidelines for the protection of aquatic life. It also contained hydrocarbons, Kongsrude said, but not at levels that exceeded CCME guidelines. The precise identity of the substance is unknown.
By sending a tracked camera into local sewer lines, crews have determined that the substance was apparently dumped somewhere along Rayborn Crescent, Kongsrude said. “It could be a business. It could be someone driving a truck up to a catch basin and dumping stuff.”
Rayborn Crescent is home to a large number of businesses, including auto-body and mechanical shops.
Ivan Mayer, president of the Riel Business Association, expressed surprise that the spill had been traced to Rayborn. “I know pretty well every business on that crescent,” he said, and he didn’t know of any that would be dumping unsuitable materials down the sewer.
He was also stumped as to the nature of the substance. “If it were a paint or a chemical similar to paint, you’d have hydrocarbons in it,” he said, but that’s not the case here. “The aluminium portion of it, that really throws a person off as to what it might be.”
It’s illegal to dump any substance down a storm sewer in St. Albert, Kongsrude said – including soapy water from washing a car. “The only thing that should go into a storm sewer along a street is rainwater or snowmelt. Nothing else.”
Anyone who dumps something other than storm water down a storm sewer can be fined up to $1,000 plus any provincial or federal fines and the cost of repairs to the sewer system.
Mayer said he thought this spill was either done by accident or in ignorance of the potential harm. “We have to be careful of what we do dump in the sewer,” he said, as the cleanup costs taxpayers money. “If it’s in question, phone, because there are people who will help you at city hall.”
Anyone with information about this spill should contact Kongsrude at 780-459-1746.
