$1.5M for Great Lakes cleanup projects

Ottawa, ON – February 16, 2004 – Funding of $1.5 million from the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund has been put toward supporting 47 restoration projects in the Great Lakes Basin. The fund provides financial support to projects that improve the ecosystem health of Areas of Concern around the Great Lakes, which have been identified as being environmentally degraded pursuant to the Canada-US Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Great Lakes Sustainability Fund projects focus on a variety of restoration activities. These include improved practices in the treatment of wastewater by products, restoration of habitat for fish and wildlife, and preventing agricultural run-off from flowing into waterways that empty into the Great Lakes.

Some of the research-related projects include:

– Optimization of aerobic digestion processes for pathogens ($30,000) to evaluate modifications to aerobic digestion processes that would reduce the pathogens and pollutant content of biosolids.

– Detroit River: Update of the model-based estimate of a retention treatment basin (RTB) for combined sewer overflows (CSO) control ($20,000) to allow the researchers to undertake field and laboratory research activities necessary to refine and finalize the design of the RTB proposed for the treatment of CSOs in the city of Windsor.

– Niagara River: Contaminated sediment management ($40,000) to test sediment in 12 potentially contaminated sites and list the potentially contaminated locations in order of priority in the Niagara River; Welland combined sewer overflow study and wet weather treatment efficiency evaluation ($20,000) to conduct field and laboratory research activities necessary to finalize design recommendations for a treatment solution to address combined sewer overflows in Welland; Niagara Falls combined sewer overflow treatment system ($50,000) to conduct field and laboratory experiments to evaluate the three methods of treatment for combined sewer overflows in Niagara Falls.

– St Clair River: Water pollution control analyses at Sarnia ($20,000) to undertake investigations into technologies that control storm water at the source and to develop a monitoring program to evaluate those technologies.

– St Lawrence River: Charlottenburg Park project ($33,000) to conduct an intensive field inventory of the current types of fish, wildlife and vegetation located in the park; research and identify species that historically used the park property as permanent or seasonal habitat; Bacteria contamination assessment and remediation project – phase II ($12,000) to conduct sampling for E coli and fecal coliform bacteria at recreational water sites in Cornwall; compile and analyze data; and assess the status of water quality for recreational use.

– St. Marys River: Sault Ste Marie east end water pollution control plant upgrade ($32,500) to complete a waste characterization study to refine the biological nutrient removal process design to address the city’s specific needs.

– Toronto: Upper Humber River rehabilitation initiative ($10,000) to study and improve habitat and water quality as well as providing access to coldwater habitat for resident and migratory fish in the Upper Humber River and tributaries; Lower Humber barrier mitigation project ($10,000) will conduct a small scale environmental assessment for the mitigation of all barriers in the lower Humber River that prevent the movement of fish.