Windermere Basin wetland may solve dredging problem

scotto

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 15, 2004
6,985
218
63
The Beach Strip
#1
Mar. 19, 12:51 EDT
Windermere Basin wetland may solve dredging problem
'Wild idea' merits economic, environmental consideration
Eric McGuinness
The Hamilton Spectator


Windermere Basin is little more than a barren mud flat at the east end of Hamilton Harbour, its shallow water covered with algae in the summer.

But one key official thinks it could become a green gateway to the city, a fish nursery, bird sanctuary and a filter for treated sewage flowing into the bay.

The 17.5-hectare basin was designed to trap sediments washing down Red Hill Creek and fine solids discharged from the Woodward Avenue sewage treatment plant, so they wouldn't clog channels used by big cargo ships.

It's done the job so well it's almost filled and sediment is overflowing. Dredging the basin could cost city taxpayers $18 to $22 million.

Jim Harnum thinks it might make sense to turn it into a cattail marsh fertilized by organic material carried by the creek. As senior director of water and wastewater for the city, Harnum's interest is as much economic as environmental, because a contract with the port authority commits Hamilton to dredging the basin regularly so sediment doesn't interfere with shipping.

A survey last December found that about 250,000 cubic metres of mud had filled the trap since 1990 and that some was escaping into the open harbour. To understand the problem, picture a mud pie seven and a half storeys tall covering an entire Canadian football field. That's how much material has collected.

Removing it could mean dredging, drying and trucking hundreds of thousands of tonnes to a landfill site where disposal would cost $42 a tonne.

The old Board of Hamilton Harbour Commissioners was responsible for dredging the basin until the city took responsibility for Windermere and acquired the surrounding land when the port authority was established five years ago.

It was part of a deal in which the city also gained title to much of the west harbour shore for recreational use.

The city has hired a marine engineering firm to report on dredging options, but Harnum doesn't want to leave it at that. He wants to look at alternatives to repeated dredging, including creating an artificial wetland, while also reducing soil erosion along Red Hill Creek and the flow of fine suspended particles in treated sewage discharged just upstream of the basin.

"The very next day after we dredge, it will start filling up again, so we want to look at a long-term solution," he said in an interview this week. "What that is we don't know yet. We might issue a request for proposals to see what the engineering world can come up with.

"Work in the valley (related to expressway construction) will dramatically reduce bank erosion, and our long-term goal is to meet the harbour Remedial Action Plan targets for total suspended solids in sewage effluent, but those are five- to seven-year plans.

"So we've got this wild idea to turn it into wetland. If we filled it more and put plants in, the organic material would get absorbed and we wouldn't have algae. Maybe that would cost $5 million and act as tertiary treatment for the wastewater plant.

"It may be pie in the sky. I don't want to just throw $25 million away, and we have a contractual obligation with the port authority. We said we would not let it impact shipping lanes."

Marilyn Baxter, executive director of the Bay Area Restoration Council, thinks the idea merits further study by all the Remedial Action Plan partners. She notes the city received a SuperBuild infrastructure grant to improve public access to the basin, but that project is on hold because it might be necessary to put dredged sediment on the shore.

emcguinness@thespec.com

905-526-4650

Hamilton Spectator File Photo
The Windermere Basin is filled and sediment is overflowing. Dredging the basin could cost taxpayers $18 million to $22 million.
 

scotto

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 15, 2004
6,985
218
63
The Beach Strip
#2
Letter from Beach Resident

This letter was sent to Keith Robson of the Hamilton Port Authority from Beach resident Steve Leach.


I read with interest about Jim's proposal for the Windermere basin in today's Spec. It is very interesting. I think it should definitely be pursued, but given the construction on the Red Hill, I suspect the plan is probably premature and might be best implemented in a few years, once vegetation in the Valley has been restored etc. I propose a stopgap measure. The Beach Strip residents are deeply concerned about the activities of the Port Authority with respect to the dredging ponds on Eastport Drive. As matters currently stand, we and the rest of the Region are going to have to stare at the dredged-up tires and other toxic detritus in the Eastport holdings ponds for another 20 years before they get filled up. I just wonder what the impact of 250,000 cubic metres of sediment would be to the Port Lands? Could a side deal be struck between the Port Authority and Hamilton to use the Eastport holding ponds for the Windermere sludge? The benefit to the Port Authority would be that it would be in a position to lease out any new land created earlier than scheduled. The benefit to the Beach Strip residents would be that the Windermere sludge is likely much less toxic than the Harbour sludge, and once the pond was filled up, it could be capped off to stop further infiltration of the toxins in the holding pond into our yards. The benefit to the City of Hamilton is that it could avoid in the short term a large portion of a $20M hit in the short term; help out the Beach Strip residents; improve the water quality in the harbour for the City; and add new p-r-e-s-t-i-g-e (the emphasis is for you, Keith) employment lands to the City. The number crunchers would need to work out the finances: obviously, the Port Authority would have a cost associated with offsite sludge removal over the next 20 years, which cost presumably could be set off at least in part by increased lease revenue from the Port Lands. Come on guys, let's see if we can't work out a deal! I'd be happy to do the first draft of the legal documents for discussion purposes, to help the project along in the conceptual stages.

Best regards,

Steve Leach
Beach Strip
 

scotto

Administrator
Staff member
Feb 15, 2004
6,985
218
63
The Beach Strip
#3
Reply Letter from Jim Harnum

Hello Steve, the City and the HPA have been investigating the feasibility over the last 2 years of exactly what you have suggested with respect to the Eastport CDC. However, this has proven not to be technically or financially viable. This is a very complex problem both at the basin and the CDC and the City and the HPA continue to work together to try and address all of the concerns to meet as many of our objectives as we can. I will keep you posted of any new developments.


Jim Harnum, C.Tech.,PMP
Senior Director of Water and Wastewater
Public Works Department, City of Hamilton
Phone: (905) 546-2424 ext. 4483
Fax: (905) 546-4491
 
Top Bottom