Sewage spill closes trail at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park

Feb 05, 2024

Yellow caution tape blocks access to a trail in Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, after 1.4 million litres of sewage from the Wasaga Beach sewage treatment plant was spilled onto park property following an equipment failure issue May 12. - Ian Adams/Metroland

Approximately 1.4 million litres of raw sewage spilled into Wasaga Beach Provincial Park after a piece of equipment at the town’s sewage treatment plant on Woodland Drive failed.

A sludge hauler was loading biosolids destined for field application from a storage tower on May 12 when it was discovered that a check-valve for a transfer pump failed. Staff at the plant, which is operated by the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA), were also notified by municipal officials after a member of the public called the town just before 7 a.m. about a possible sewage spill on the north side of the plant.

According to the environmental incident report filed with the Ministry of Environment’s Spills Action Centre, a suction truck began cleaning up the area adjacent to the building, and Ontario Parks was notified, along with a request to access the area for further cleanup in a bush area.

All trails through the area were closed to public access. A Wasaga Beach resident told Simcoe.com that she called the town after she and her dog encountered the spill just before 9 a.m.

The woman, who asked that her name be withheld, said she was concerned her dog, which was on a leash, may have come into contact with the spill.

As of May 15, she said her dog was not suffering any ill effects.

"I took him straight home after the incident and gave him a thorough bath. His feet still smelled post-bath," she said.

Wasaga Beach’s general manager of community services Kevin Lalonde said the area was mostly cleaned up by the afternoon of May 12. He told Simcoe.com the company contracted to undertake the cleanup would be returning on May 15 to “address a couple of areas on the trail that we are not satisfied with.”

He said he did not yet have information on the analysis of what may have caused the equipment failure.