A reconstruction project on Mohawk Canal, installing catchment basins on existing storm drains, meant to capture sediment and other contaminants that currently flow unimpeded into the canal during rain events, has itself been the source of contamination of the canal.
The canal and lake are vital to the local ecosystem and local wildlife. There are about 13 species of fish living in the canal and lake, two mammal species that live largely aquatic lives, numerous inspect species that rely on the aquatic system for reproduction and food, two species of turtles, and at least two species of amphibians.
There are as many as 90 species of birds who rely on the ecosystem provided by the canal and lake, some migrate through while others stay all year, some stay seasonally. Species that rely directly on the waterway include Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Double-breasted Cormorants, Caspian Terns, Belted Kingfishers and several species of gulls. Migrating ducks also rely on the lake’s bounty. There are other mammals which live in the area and need a healthy environment, such as fox, coyote, deer and raccoons.
Since reconstruction work has begun in 2024, there have been numerous releases of unfiltered water, pumped from the construction site to permit work. Somehow the pipe becomes detached from the large bag meant to filter the water and possibly ease the impact of this discharge of water into the canal quite regularly. The company that was awarded the contract through a bidding process, does not seem to check the discharge site regularly.
An attempt to speak to someone on the site about the detachment recently was thwarted because there was no one on site on the Murray Street side who seemed to be in charge, only a digger filling up numerous dump trucks.
An attempt to contact the city resulted in a long wait as the clerks hired to screen all telephone communication did not know who was responsible for overseeing the project.
Call screening has become a routine under the Kevin Davis regime. A new policy of silencing community discussion and input seems to be the rule under Davis’ oversight. And Council’s disregard for existing greenspace in the city appears to be snowballing, with plans to develop yet another public park, as well as Davis’s determination to develop West Brant with a new high speed road, which will have a very negative impact on the existing greenspace, already impacted by the huge housing development going in around the industrial park.
Brantford has been identified as a climate change hotspot. And no wonder. There are still street in the city lacking roadside trees, and a policy to remove brush and trees from locations where the homeless set up camps. Those trees and bushes are vital for our non-human city residents, work as carbon sinks, and frankly, help mitigate climate change impacts.
When will this municipality and it’s elected leaders uphold the environmental rights of our wild neighbours, and the younger generations who will have no choice but to try to adapt to a world drastically impaired by human resource extraction and unbridled development?
Stephanie Dearing
