[URBAN NOTE] "Mysterious fuel spill leeching into Don River for weeks, City of Toronto investigating

[rfmcdonald]

Global News' Adam Miller and Christina Stevens report on an apparent fuel spill that has been contaminating the Don River for weeks. Hasn't enough been done to that poor waterway already?

The City of Toronto is working to determine the cause of a foul-smelling fuel spill in the Don River downtown, while a local water protection charity is criticizing the lack of government action several weeks after the spill was reported.

Bill Shea, director of distribution and collection for Toronto Water, told Global News the city was informed of the petroleum spill in the river near the Gerrard Street overpass two weeks ago by a local resident, which prompted staff to contain it while they investigate the source.

Shea said some type of petroleum product had poured out of a large two-metre diameter sewer near the overpass and officials suspect it originated from a nearby area of hazardous “brownfield” land.

“The petroleum product that’s in that brownfield is leaking into our chamber,” he said.

“It’s a contaminated site that’s known to the [Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change], it’s private property and the property owner is responsible for monitoring the levels of contaminate in that site, in this case petroleum.”