July 27, 2008

Absolute Chaos

I thought that with all the heavy rains Oshawa has been receiving lately, that perhaps the rusty substance would have returned to the surface of the site. I was absolutely blown away because the site is almost unrecognizable!
Yes, there has been a lot of rain, but I highly doubt they could have caused this much change. All of the vegetation that had grown over much of the area is no longer there and both monitoring stations have vanished - leaving nothing but dirt, gravel and pools of rusty and oily water.This looks like the work of something - or someone.


The former locations of the white and blue monitoring stations can be seen in these pictures.




The rusty coloured substance can be seen flowing all the way down the path, almost to the manhole cover on the south-west side of the property.




Most concerning of all is the oily sheen on the top of numerous areas of water. It is very evident and shows up well in the pictures below, which were taken in various areas. In the last picture, the surface water was carrying this substance down the steep drop to the south of the landfill towards the river. Whatever it is, this substance is clearly being carried into the adjacent creek.








This picture was taken facing east with the old leachate area in the foreground and an overview of where the water is currently flowing. (click on the picture for a larger image)


Something needs to be done immediately to determine that whatever this oily substance is does not pose a threat to the health of humans and species in the nearby creek! If this site were merely 'iron staining', what is this oily substance doing along with it? Is it coming from the landfill? What is it composed of? Whatever it is, it should not be permitted to flow into the environment without monitoring to ensure it is safe.

A sales centre has recently been built on the corner of Grandview Street and Rossland Street. The last picture is full of irony with the sales centre in the foreground advertising "These woods were make for walking" and the landfill in the background. Not to mention the subdivision adjacent to it.