Sewage spill in Wasaga Beach forest to be cleaned in time for long weekend

Town officials in Wasaga Beach are assuring residents there is nothing to be concerned about after a sewage spill.

"There is no concern for the public, for public health, for pet health. There's certainly no concern for drinking water. If any residents have concerns, that's not an issue," said Sandra Watts with the Town of Wasaga Beach.

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On Friday, a resident walking a dog on a wooded trail northeast of the Wasaga Beach Water Pollution Control Plant noticed a substance leaking into the forest.

"The resident called it in, and within the hour, the Ontario Clean Water Agency and the Town had teams on the ground on site assessing the situation," said Watts.

Response teams said they controlled the situation before it reached the provincial parkland and that the substance was non-agricultural source material.

"Which is essentially treated organic and other waste that's already ready to go get applied to farmers' fields to fertilize crops, so it was a safe certified material," Watts explained.

The agency is doing an assessment, but it's believed a check valve failed at the biosolids complex, causing the overflow.

Residents are asked to stay off the trails while the are is being cleaned and restored, though some of the material has already been absorbed by soil and vegetation.

"Local residents love to use these trails. Love to bring their pets, walk their dogs, so we are just moving some of the organic matter and laying down clean sand to make it more enjoyable," Watts added.

Steps are also being taken to make sure future cleanups aren't necessary.

"There are contingencies that have been put in place and a new alarm system to alert staff and to ensure that this doesn't happen again," Watts concluded.

Most of the cleanup was dealt with on the day of the spill last week, and the remaining cleaning and aesthetic touch-ups to the trails are expected to be done by Friday, allowing them to reopen for the long weekend.