The diesel spill into Kempenfelt Bay is pretty much all cleaned up, but where it came from remains under investigation.
Efforts to clean up the fuel that had leaked into the Southshore Park duck pond, located between the Tiffin Boat Launch and the Southshore Centre, have progressed steadily since work began last Saturday.
City of Barrie officials maintain that since the municipality did not cause the spill, they still do not know at this point exactly when the incident happened or exactly how much diesel fuel was leaked and entered Kempenfelt Bay.
Meanwhile, at this point the cleanup is mostly complete with, as usually happens with fuel spills, booms and other absorbent material being left at the site to catch any residual material, said city spokesperson Scott LaMantia.
The estimated cost of the cleanup will be around $50,000, he said.
“This includes staff costs, equipment and material costs, and contractors for cleanup. As is normal practice, the city intends to recoup this cost from the party responsible for the spill,” LaMantia said.
By Wednesday afternoon, ducks had returned to the pond after not being seen there since the leak was first detected.
“The lake is our most precious asset in Barrie and as such the city has taken the situation very seriously. The cleanup happened fast thanks to the quick action from our staff," LaMantia said.
LaMantia says municipal staff were made aware of a sheen of oil/fuel in the duck pond on Saturday morning.
“Staff responded immediately and deployed absorbent material and booms to contain the spill and then called a contractor to assist with the cleanup and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Spills Action Centre,” LaMantia said.
City staff then investigated to determine the source.
“Initial investigations included inspection of the storm sewers upstream of the Allandale GO station and sewers south of the site along Lakeshore Drive," LaMantia added. "Based on city staff’s initial investigation and in discussions with Metrolinx staff on site Saturday, it was determined the diesel spill came from the Allandale GO refuelling station. Staff remain confident in this assessment.”
Metrolinx is the Crown agency that operates the rail line, including the Allandale Waterfront GO station, which is located not far from where the spill was detected in the duck pond. However, Metrolinx has denied it's to blame for the spill.
“We are continuing to fully co-operate with the City of Barrie and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks with the investigation," said Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins.
The city has handed over information from its investigation to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), which is conducting its own probe, LaMantia said.
MECP spokesperson Gary Wheeler says the ministry “takes all threats to the environment, including spills, very seriously.” He said the Spills Action Centre was made aware of the potential spill and is currently investigating in co-ordination with the City of Barrie.
Local environmentalist Peter Bursztyn, who also writes a science column for BarrieToday, said the response to the fuel spill appears to have been fast.
“They seem to have gotten on the case pretty quickly. Not sure who it was, but the hydrocarbon absorbing materials were in place quickly, largely preventing the material from escaping into the lake,” Bursztyn said. “In fact, letting the stuff spread out would have (sped up) evaporation.”
Bursztyn said diesel, fuel oil or kerosene are lighter than water so the material floats on the surface.
“These liquid hydrocarbons are pretty volatile — less so than gasoline, but volatile — so (they) evaporate readily, particularly at summer temperatures," he said. "There were still traces around the Barrie Rowing Club’s dock (Wednesday) morning when we returned from rowing, but the sheen on the water was 'incomplete,' (meaning) there were holes and gaps in it. Also, there was little odour suggesting that there wasn’t much remaining.”
Barrie-Innisfil MP John Brassard said protecting Lake Simcoe is important to everyone in central Ontario.
“I am confident in the city's ability to deal with the spill as they have and work to prevent further spills from happening,” Brassard told BarrieToday. “Everyone locally is committed to working on keeping Lake Simcoe clean and sustainable for generations to come.”
