Hamilton given extension to clean up Chedoke Creek

The City of Hamilton now has an extra two months to dredge up a layer of biohazardous sediment that's settled on the bottom ofChedoke Creek.

The work is required following a four-year sewage leak thatresulted in 24 billion litres of sewage spilling into the creek and draining into Cootes Paradise. The leak was discovered and stopped in 2018.

Last week,council voted to appeal a provincial order that would require the city to complete the in-water dredging workby the end of August.

The head of Hamilton Water, Nick Winters, told reporters Fridayhe couldn't guaranteeit would be finished by then given staffing and supply chain challenges, unpredictable weather and equipment issues.

In response, the Ministry of the Environment Conservation and Parks agreed to give the city until the end of October.

"All of us want to see the remediation of Chedoke Creek completed as soon as possible and this new cooperative timeline will allow that to happen," Mayor Andrea Horwath said in a statement.

The Ministry of the Environment ordered Hamilton to clean up the spill in 2020 after the city decided to not directly address it.