Toronto waterfronts littered with 'things people flush down the toilet' as rains leave beaches unsafe to swim
Along Toronto's waterfront, debris including tampons, condoms, and wet wipes could be seen floating in Lake Ontario following Monday’s heavy rainfall – a scene environmental groups say should raise concern over the city's sewage and storm water system.
"It's just not an inviting place to see all this debris in the water and you can't see all the bacteria in the water," Madeline Buzzi with Swim Drink Fish told CTV News Toronto.
Swim Drink Fish spent Tuesday collecting water samples along the Toronto harbour, monitoring pollution levels in the lake post-storm.
"Lots of things people flush down the toilet that they probably shouldn't ends up in the water," she said.
On Monday, the city closed multiple public beachs, including Marie Curtis Park East Beach, Sunnyside Beach, Centre Island Beach and Woodbine Beaches, to swimming due to high E. coli levels.
Within the city's century-old infrastructure, some systems only have one pipe carrying both storm water and sewage. This can cause a combined sewer overflow during intense storms.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
"The problem there is, if during a heavy rainstorm those sewers fill up and if they have nowhere to go, they would ultimately back up into peoples homes, businesses and the street, so all combined sewers are designed with an overflow into the lake, stream and river," Bill Shea, director of distribution and collection with Toronto Water, told CTV News Toronto.
According to the city, between 20 to 25 percent of the sewer systems are combined.
"When we have sewage and harmful debris, in our waters it hurts the things that live in the water and hurts us in turn,” Isabel Fleisher, a monitoring coordinator with Swim Drink Fish, said.
"We really need more transparency where, when and why sewage is entering our water because we need to know so that Torontonians can better access the water and we can better protect the environment," said Fleisher.
Swim Drink Fish is calling for better monitoring of sewage and an alert system to notify residents when a combined sewer overflows into the lake.
"That will provide transparency on where, when and under what conditions combine sewer water is entering the water ," said Fleshier. "It helps the public by informing where you could potentially enter the water."
The City of Kingston has an alert system online that includes a real time map informing residents where and when an overflow occurs.
It's a measure officials in Toronto have explored, but found to be too costly.
"Our infrastructure is quite complex and it's hard to get to some of these areas where you actually might measure, so we looked at it several times in the past and we estimated to be between 10 and 20 million dollars a year to do this and set it up," said Shea.
Instead, the city has decided to spend that money improving the storm water and sewer systems.
Swim Drink Fish believes the monitoring and alert measures could help the city target problem areas to improve the infrastructure.
The city advises not to swim in the lake during and 48 hours after a heavy rainfallc
Swim Drink Fish says people need to be more mindful of what they are flushing down their drains and toilets.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial has fined him US$1,000 for violating his gag order and sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
When grief and AI collide: These people are communicating with the dead
AI tools can offer recommendations, answer questions and 'talk' with users. But some users are using them to recreate the likeness of the dead.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
WestJet, mechanics union agree to tentative deal to avoid strike
A potential strike between WestJet and its mechanics union appears to have been avoided.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.