Ottawa River=GROSS!!

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Jimmy_1
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Ottawa River=GROSS!!

Post by Jimmy_1 »

Can you believe the sewage spillage is supposed to topple 1Billions litres?????

I am thinking of putting some treble hooks on a condom and seeing what I catch!

This is disgusting!
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Post by RJ »

Hey Jamsers,

Have you been on the lower Ottawa River this year?....I was two weeks ago after a good sized spill......it looked the exact same as it did the last 30 times I'd been on it...

You should write for the Ottawa Sun....you'd be a great sensationalist reporter... :lol:

Is it bad?...yes...will it ever be completely fixed?...no...it's been going on for decades...

RJ
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Post by Bass Addict »

RJ wrote:..it's been going on for decades...

RJ
And will go on for decades to come... :wink:
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Jimmy_1
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Post by Jimmy_1 »

Yes RJ,

Twice this year and 4 times last year. It is bad, but they stated on the CBC Radio that this years spillage exceeds that of years past.

Years ago, when we lived in Rothwell Heights (end of Blair Rd near the launch) everybody was still on well and septic. :shock:

In the early 80's they expanded to city water and sewage ( I was still a tot). There were even still homes where the parkway is now!

My folks told me it was a cess pit then too. Logging was still prevalent and I can well imagine the damage from the floating timer and the run-off it causes.

My only point was that now when you fish from the sewage plant down you can see human excrement, spent prophylactics, $hit tickets etc.

Its gross and unacceptable.....PERIOD.

People in Ottawa in some areas pay between $4500 to $10K annually in property taxes!! :shock:

You mean to say that there is no $$$ to put toward sewage upgrades? Additional capacity? Look at Kanata with the floods and how they have screwed up many flood plain calculations.....

Glad I live in the country....
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Post by RJ »

Jimmy from the Valley wrote:Yes RJ,



My only point was that now when you fish from the sewage plant down you can see human excrement, spent prophylactics, $hit tickets etc.
Can ANYONE verify they have seen this in the Ottawa?....I know a few guys that fish there at least 2 or 3 times a week and say they have noticed zero difference from years past....

A majority of what is being dumped is storm sewer grey water.....someone can confirm the % I'm sure....

Propaganda is a useful thing...

RJ
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Half-hitch
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Re: Ottawa River=GROSS!!

Post by Half-hitch »

[quote="Jimmy from the Valley"]Can you believe the sewage spillage is supposed to topple 1Billions litres?????]


Much of this is storm overflow. You would be hard pressed to notice it, short of doing bacterial counts.
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Post by Jimmy_1 »

Not the point lads.

No RJ, you won't see a floating mass like in the ocean....but the particulate is in the water. You do indeed see condoms etc in the water and probably more so than other bodies of water due to proximity...

You couldn't PAY me enough to get in the water from Dow's lake to Rideau Center!

Point being that it is a delicate eco-system and that much sewage, toxins etc IS doing real harm.

I seem to recall that the city was sued/is suing by a world-class kickboxer after he couldn't compete due to an infection he received from using one of the beaches???


Yes, here it is:


CBC News - Tuesday, September 19, 2006
A Canadian kickboxing champion is blaming the City of Ottawa for a serious foot infection that dashed his plans to compete in his sport’s world championship.

Jamie Sabourin, 38, developed a severe infection in his foot after visiting a beach on Petrie Island, in Ottawa’s east end.

He alleges city officials were negligent by not adequately warning the public about the dangers of the bacteria-laden water.

Sabourin visited the picturesque Petrie Island beach on Aug. 8, and spent the morning throwing a football around as part of a picnic outing with his family.

While playing, he got a small cut in the baby toe of his left foot, and waded into the water to wash the sand out of it.
About an hour later, he said, lifeguards arrived and publicly announced that the water was unsafe for swimming due to high bacterial levels.

Over the next week, Sabourin said, his foot grew more and more painful.

“By the weekend, my foot was literally the size of a football.”

Infection caused by E. coli
At the hospital, doctors took a swab of the infection and determined that it was caused by E. coli bacteria. Petrie Island’s water was home to high levels of the bacteria this summer.

Jean-Guy Albert, a spokesman for Ottawa public health, said that, in 2006, the first year Petrie Island’s supervised swimming area was open, the beach had 45 “no swimming” advisories — more than any other beach in the city.

Sabourin described the beach bluntly: “The water is really a cesspool of bacteria.”

A month later, following surgery and treatment at the hospital, Sabourin’s foot is still swollen and deep purple in places. He continues to walk with crutches and needs his foot dressings changed regularly by a home-care nurse.

His bad foot will likely keep him from representing Canada at the World Kickboxing Association championship in Spain in November. Sabourin earned a spot in the tournament by winning the Canadian championship in May.

He said he is certain the Petrie Island water is responsible for his infection.

“I’m very confident that it came from there. There’s no other way,” he said.

‘A no brainer’ to have signs up
Sabourin said city officials should be doing more to prevent cases like his.

“I think it would just be a no brainer to have signs up that the water quality is poor and you risk your health by going into the water.”

He said no such signs were posted.

But a spokesman for Ottawa Public Health said the city tests the water at its beaches regularly and informs the public of the results through many channels.

Jean-Guy Albert, a program manager for the department’s environment and health protection division, said people can check the city website for water-quality announcements.

They can also call 311, Ottawa Public Health or a special city phone line with a recorded message.

He said pylons are often put up at the water’s edge if it is not safe to swim, and signs are usually posted. But he said Parks and Recreation — not his department — was responsible for posting the signs.


and e.coli
E. coli are not always confined to the intestine, and their ability to survive for brief periods outside the body makes them an ideal indicator organism to test environmental samples for fecal contamination
So the guy gets an e.coli infection, and e.coli is prevalent in poo....so....
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Half-hitch
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Post by Half-hitch »

"So the guy gets an e.coli infection, and e.coli is prevalent in poo....so...."

So you will ALWAYS find E. Coli levels in natural water. There is a cutoff below which the beaches are open. Man isn't the only creature to have intestinal flora, and ALL the rest poo where?

"You couldn't PAY me enough to get in the water from Dow's lake to Rideau Center!
"

Isn't that the Rideau river? What does this section of the Rideau have to do with untreated sweage overflow? IIRC, all those issues involve the Ottawa.
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Post by Wallyboss »

From Dow's Lake to the Rideau Center is actually the Rideau Canal , not the river. And I don't think that there is any sewage leaks in there. They mostly come from the New Edinburg area. Very close to the PM's residence.


I fish mostly out of Petrie and I haven't found that this year was any worse than the last 4-5 years. I am pretty sure that Westboro Beach was closed more often than Petrie this year.
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Post by Billy Dee »

As far as I know, most e-coli closings are caused by goose droppings. Most excessive counts are from fertilizer run-off from farming. Hell, I've even heard of a closing because there was too much dog crap in a park adjacent to the water body and the run-off was contaminated.
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Post by TLunge »

Its been going on for years but getting much worse lately because of masive new developments while trying to save money and use the old system. Yes s#it slicks from Orleans to Rockland with tampon aplicators and bad stuff etc. have been seen a few times.
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Post by almontefisher »

My father sold sewer and water pipe for 40years to this city and he has told them for the last 25years that they need to upgrade and improve thier systems. He said this about Orleans and their systems( all the flooding ) he said it about Kanata and he said it about all this stuff. The sewer pipes are not large enough to handle some of the flow from all the build up of homes and also the pumps are to small to keep up with moving it. 25 years he told them to fix this before it is too late and instead they purchase the cheapest pipe, pumps etc to be able to use your $$$ on other things like repaving the 417 15 times in 10 years etc. They knew what they were doing and it is biting them in the butt now. As for the raw sewage going in yes a lot of it is grey water but a good portion is raw sewage. Has it been going on for 40years...No not at this level unless half the city population back then went to the bathroom an awful lot. How can anyone say it is just as bad as it was when we have doubled the population and not increased the infrastructure to support this. Again when 40 years ago the population was what 200,000 tops and now it is 1,000,000....how can anyone say it is the same???
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Post by bl8ant »

almontefisher wrote:How can anyone say it is just as bad as it was when we have doubled the population and not increased the infrastructure to support this.
I'd love to hear anyone argue with that.
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Post by Jimmy_1 »

Half-hitch wrote:"So the guy gets an e.coli infection, and e.coli is prevalent in poo....so...."

So you will ALWAYS find E. Coli levels in natural water. There is a cutoff below which the beaches are open. Man isn't the only creature to have intestinal flora, and ALL the rest poo where?

"You couldn't PAY me enough to get in the water from Dow's lake to Rideau Center!
"

Isn't that the Rideau river? What does this section of the Rideau have to do with untreated sweage overflow? IIRC, all those issues involve the Ottawa.
Yes, but I have gone into the Mississippi MANY times with cuts on me and NEVER come out with an E.coli infection. Lots of geese and ducks poo in there also. Even loons!

and yes that is the Rideau Canal and not the Ottawa. I stated you couldn't pay me enough because I have seen what's in there because my office window overlooked it. I saw everything imagineable in there and even saw them pull a body out once.

Hence why you couldn't pay me enough.

The point was/is the Ottawa River and the Rideau Canal are DISGUSTING.
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Post by Robert Goulet »

Yet people still eat the fish out of the there.

I don't care if you've been doing it for years and feel fine, or if the MNR says you can eat 2 walleye per month safely. I'd rather spend the $8.00 at Farm Boy and buy a couple of fillets for dinner.

DISGUSTING!!!
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