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Ottawa announces $700K in funding to help improve Hamilton and Burlington water quality

The funding will support projects such as the work to clean up the Hamilton Harbour and, monitoring of nutrient and bacterial contamination in the Chedoke Creek and Red Hill Creek watersheds.

McMaster University, Redeemer University and Halton Region Conservation Authority among those to receive funds

Justin Chandler · CBC News ·
Mussel shells sit on a table next to a tray containing more shells, and an aquarium.
A group of researchers at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters in Burlington, Ont., showed off their work studying how mussels respond to environmental contaminants. They said almost 70 per cent of North America's 300 species of mussels are threatened or in decline. (Justin Chandler/CBC)

Burlington MP Karina Gould said that when she was growing up, you didn't go to Burlington Beach because "it was not safe."

But after years of work to restore the environment, she said this week, the area has become a popular recreation spot. 

"I love bringing my children there, and playing in the water and knowing that it is safe to do so," the House leader said on Tuesday.

Gould, Hamilton Mountain MP Lisa Hepfner and heads of scientific and environmental organizations came together in Burlington, Ont., to announce about $700,000 in funding for several Hamilton- and Halton-area projects aimed at improving water quality and ecosystem health in the Great Lakes. 

The three-month-old Canada Water Agency, which launched in October in an effort to co-ordinate water-quality initiatives with provinces, territories and local agencies, said the funded projects include:

  • $292,000 for McMaster University research into climate change-induced water-level changes in Georgian Bay marshes.
  • $210,000 for the Halton Region Conservation Authority to coordinate the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan, which guides the clean-up of Hamilton Harbour.
  • $140,000 for the Bay Area Restoration Council to support communications and engagement for the implementation of the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan.
  • $69,692 for Redeemer University in Hamilton to monitor nutrient and bacterial contamination in the Chedoke Creek and Red Hill Creek watersheds.
  • $75,000 for the Governing Council of the University of Toronto to examine how rainfall affects nutrient pollution in two combined sewer overflows in Hamilton Harbour.
Three large aquarium tanks, each containing multiple snails.
One team at the centre is breeding fresh-water snails to learn how they respond to different environmental contaminants. They said the snails generally aren't well represented in this sort of research. (Justin Chandler/CBC)

"This investment will help restore water quality in the Hamilton Harbour Area of Concern and across the Great Lakes," Canada Water Agency said in a news release, adding programs would complement other local projects such as upgrades to Hamilton's wastewater treatment plant.

The agency's director, Jennifer Vincent, said Tuesday it's taken decades of work to improve water conditions in the region and "we have more work to do."

The news conference was held at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters, which is nestled between Burlington and Hamilton beaches under the Queen Elizabeth Way, where the harbour meets Lake Ontario.

The site hosts about 600 workers from the Canada Water Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Canadian Coast Guard and the RCMP.

After the news conference, politicians, agency heads and reporters toured the facility. Several scientists showed off their work, including research into how mussels, snails and minnows react to contaminants and how different species of fish move in the wild. 

WATCH | Gould won't confirm she's entering Liberal leadership race:

Gould won't confirm she's entering Liberal leadership race

4 days ago
Duration 1:08
During a press conference in Burlington, Ont., House Leader Karina Gould says she will have more to say in the coming days regarding whether she will enter the Liberal leadership race. A source told CBC News that Gould plans to launch her bid this week.

On Tuesday, CBC News reported Gould is planning a run for Liberal Party of Canada leadership.

At the funding announcement Tuesday, she did not confirm the run when CBC Hamilton asked her directly, saying only she would have more to say soon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Justin Chandler

Reporter

Justin Chandler is a CBC News reporter in Hamilton. He has a special interest in how public policy affects people, and he loves a quirky human-interest story. Justin covered current affairs in Hamilton and Niagara for TVO, and has worked on a variety of CBC teams and programs, including As It Happens, Day 6 and CBC Music. He co-hosted Radio Free Krypton on Met Radio. You can email story ideas to justin.chandler(at)cbc(dot)ca.

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