Ottawa River consumes a large amount of raw sewage after City seal breaks down

Ottawa city council has been made aware of thousands of litres of sanitary sewage that spilled into the Ottawa River earlier this month. This spill is said to have happened because a seal failed between two wells.

A memo from Marilyn Journeaux, Acting Director of Water Services for the City of Ottawa, says approximately 42,000 litres of diluted raw sewage flowed into a catch basin that’s adjacent to the R.O Pickard Environmental Centre on March 20.

“The spill occurred while the South Ottawa Pumping Station was transitioned into wet weather mode. After a thorough investigation, it was determined that a seal failure between the wet well and dry well allowed sewage to escape the process.”

The memo states that updates to the operating procedures and operator training are ongoing. This will prevent further reliance on the isolation between wet and dry wells.

“The seal will be promptly repaired and add flood alarm will be added to the South Ottawa Pumping Station.”