Burlington Street Sewage Spill & Response

On November 22, 2022 Hamilton Water maintenance staff uncovered, through their investigation of a separate maintenance issue, a hole in a combined sewer pipe in the area of Burlington Street and Wentworth Street North. This hole led to a sewage spill into a large storm sewer that was discharging into Hamilton Harbour.

After a preliminary investigation, it is believed the hole was put in the combined sewer pipe in 1996. It appears that the contractor at the time was under the impression that all pipes were storm sewers and were designed to directly connect to box culverts leading out to the harbour.

Hamilton Water’s immediate priority upon discovering the leak was to protect the environment and mitigate the spill. Hamilton Water staff who discovered the leak immediately initiated field investigations and have since taken steps to stop the flow from leaking into the harbour. The repair work and realignment of the sewer was completed on November 23, 2022 and combined sewage is now flowing into the Western Sewer Interceptor and all appropriate blocking of the combined sewer has been completed. Further system modeling will be undertaken to determine the most appropriate final resolution.

Staff have concluded that the section of pipe within the area of Burlington Street East and Wentworth Street North services 50 properties. There is no danger to the drinking water supply of these impacted properties, and property owners and/or residents have been notified.

The City continues to follow the necessary notification protocol to the province and other agencies and have been in contact with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks as well as other key Hamilton Harbour agencies, stakeholders, and First Nations communities.

The City will continue to update this webpage as further details become available.