INGLESIDE – A section of sewage discharge pipe has surfaced between two islands west of the Long Sault Parkway.
Public Works Director Ross Gellately told South Stormont council Wednesday night the section of pipe is from the sewage treatment plant but doesn’t pose an environmental hazard and it not affecting the operation of the plant.
While only part of the pipe from the Ingleside plant is showing above the waterline, the entire pipe is 1.5 kilometers long.
The discovery was made by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission on Friday (Aug.9), who notified the municipality.
It’s on the surface of the St. Lawrence River between Bredin Island and West Woodlands Island, west of McLaren Campground. The water is about three feet (0.91 meters) deep in that area, Gellately said.
Township staff have gone out and tied orange road cones to the top to mark the black polyethylene pipe as a hazard for boaters until a dive team can get out there Friday to assess the situation.
“There’s not a lot of boat traffic in that location because the water is very shallow,” Gellately said.
The pipe, which was installed in the mid-1990s when the sewage treatment plant was built, had been buried at least one meter below the river base. It had been inspected two years ago.
“At this point, we really don’t have a lot of answers,” he said. “I really hope we have some answers in the next couple or three weeks.”
Gellately added that the township’s insurer has been notified with a claim pending.