Ottawa River=GROSS!!

[Wallyboss]

a good friend of mine is in the water quality testing business

he tells me that the levels in the river are negligible.....he also says that the difference bewteen the river and most lakes in eastern ontario is that the river is constantly tested. He says if the lakes were tested with the same scrutiny, very few of them would be found to have lower levels than the big O.

that is what i was told by someone with a lot more knowledge of the issue than i have.

I agree Mick. And the main reason that everybody talks about Petrie is that Petrie is one of the spots where they check water quality.

It's actually worse at the Rockliffe Marina because it is less diluted than when it reaches Petrie and even less than when it gets to Rockland.

So the overflow of this week is probably in Montreal by now.

I don't know why this is being brought up everytime they talk about it on the news. We all know about it and the City is finally doing something about it.

[Bass Addict]

a good friend of mine is in the water quality testing business

he tells me that the levels in the river are negligible.....he also says that the difference bewteen the river and most lakes in eastern ontario is that the river is constantly tested. He says if the lakes were tested with the same scrutiny, very few of them would be found to have lower levels than the big O.

that is what i was told by someone with a lot more knowledge of the issue than i have.

I agree Mick. And the main reason that everybody talks about Petrie is that Petrie is one of the spots that they check water quality.

And the water quality very often fails.... Because of High levels of E-coli..

[Mick]

a good friend of mine is in the water quality testing business

he tells me that the levels in the river are negligible.....he also says that the difference bewteen the river and most lakes in eastern ontario is that the river is constantly tested. He says if the lakes were tested with the same scrutiny, very few of them would be found to have lower levels than the big O.

that is what i was told by someone with a lot more knowledge of the issue than i have.

I agree Mick. And the main reason that everybody talks about Petrie is that Petrie is one of the spots that they check water quality.

And the water quality very often fails.... Because of High levels of E-coli..

BA

I didn't say that it doesn't fail because clearly it does.....what I am saying is that many lakes in eastern ontario would also fail if they were regularly tested....ALSO.....the actually e coli levels in the river are very low even on most days when they do fail.....low enough that concern for humans really doesn't exist at the failure levels......i'm told it would need to be 10 times more concentrated to be of real concern.....unless you were drinking it by the gallon

[troutnmuskiehunter]

BA

unless you were drinking it by the gallon

Hmmmmm....that explains a lot of things now. Stop drinking that water BA!!!

[joco]

Robert Goulet


yep people still eat fish frome there.

and actualy people eat fish frome there and dont no it....there 3 commercial fishing permit in are region and they catch fish and sell it to local and none local fish market.

wen people by fish at the fish market..it those not say in kind off water or where its been caught usely..even if sometime it those say its frome where a lot off time its not.

so people..do eat sturgeons..in some local smoke house..its frome right here in the ottawa river.or some catfish or bullhead super...m righ frome here..... .

t the river always been dirty for the past 50 years if not more...but the kind off garbage that is been dump in it as not alwasy been the same.

personaly i would never go swiming at petrie...or wesborow...but i see so many people swiming in that river all over.

joco

[fishin mission]

why swim in the river just get a jetted toilet for 2 !!

[Jimmy_1]

Alrighty then!

If its that harmless and negligible I invite all HawkTalkers to a BBQ and Swim at Westoboro beach next July.

Everybody can eat what they catch and we'll all swim in the water, take huge mouthfuls and spit it out like a fountain....

Now all those on here saying its sensationalism, I'd like to see you ACTUALLY swim in it.Cuz your braver than most.

My point was, is and always will be its gross. Didn't mean to start or cause the usual multi page argument that goes on. Simply stating its gross and disheartening to hear so much is dumped in.

Never claimed the fish were inedible etc.

Also, interestingly enough Ottawa and Gatineau have different levels of acceptable e.coli before declaring a beach CLOSED. SO seems there are differing FACTS between the 2 municipalities.

http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/issues/beach_closures/

Seeing as the beach was closed for 45 days...that 1.5 months..and basically there is 4 months of prime beach season...so basically for nearly half of that time the beaches were closed.

So if its "negligible" as people with all the facts state, then why where they closed? Why is the city of Ottawa facing a law suit? Why was it fined by the Province? Last I checked the Province doesn't fine you if its negligible..

Yes other water bodies are gross too....Dow's Lake, Mississippi River in the Town of CP etc. Do I think its a travesty what happens to them? Yes.
Anybody heard of the Plume in Beckwith? Or the run-off's from the old foundries?

Point was we need to start treating these resources with respect. Not have a Pi$$ing contest over whos opinion is right or wrong.

[The_Captain!]

I think the lawsuit is a bit silly because he had a a high probablilty of infection anyway by washing an open wound in river water even if the e-coli levels were at acceptable levels.

He could of contracted an infection by washing it in a chemically treated swimming pool as well... so the lawsuit should be thrown out as its really his own negligence. Its a bit like those people that sued fast-food restaurants for their obesity related problems.

But it really is unacceptable that any sewage goes into the river at all. The money that could fix this problem is just being wasted on things like the Lansdowne profect, light rail, spider-statues etc. So much wasted money...

[Jimmy_1]

THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT!!!!

The resources we have are NOT infinite. If we do not take steps to protect them NOW they will be damaged BEYOND repair before you know it.

Yes it was polluted 50 years ago. But 50 years ago the strain on the river was not as high as it is now. Ottawa AND Gatineau are growing and the infrastructure to maintain these growing cities is NOT addressed.

Well maybe it will cost 10's of BILLIONS to upgrade sewers and treatment plants. But at the end of the day you protect something we need...WATER.

Mass transit? DO you have any idea the amount of SUV's etc I see EVERYDAY with 1 person in it whilst CARPOOLING to work? Bring in carpool lanes etc. Jeez I swear people are lazy and love convenience. We'll see how much it'll cost in the end.

Sorry but as a TRUE outdoors person I DO care about rivers, lakes and forests. So hearing about billions of gallons of waste water in the river, or agri land being destroyed so that $450,000 homes can go up on .23 acre lots, an oil slick here etc. Its all caused by unwillingness and negligence.

C'mon do we really need spider statues etc?

Anyone here ride the OC? They are PACKED...buy more damn buses so that people don't feel so cramped and maybe, just maybe more people will take the bus....its is much, much cheaper in the long run...

Yes it adds 1/2hr to my day but I know that it does make a difference.

[Jimmy_1]

THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT!!!!

The resources we have are NOT infinite. If we do not take steps to protect them NOW they will be damaged BEYOND repair before you know it.

Yes it was polluted 50 years ago. But 50 years ago the strain on the river was not as high as it is now. Ottawa AND Gatineau are growing and the infrastructure to maintain these growing cities is NOT addressed.

Well maybe it will cost 10's of BILLIONS to upgrade sewers and treatment plants. But at the end of the day you protect something we need...WATER.

Mass transit? DO you have any idea the amount of SUV's etc I see EVERYDAY with 1 person in it whilst CARPOOLING to work? Bring in carpool lanes etc. Jeez I swear people are lazy and love convenience. We'll see how much it'll cost in the end.

Sorry but as a TRUE outdoors person I DO care about rivers, lakes and forests. So hearing about billions of gallons of waste water in the river, or agri land being destroyed so that $450,000 homes can go up on .23 acre lots, an oil slick here etc. Its all caused by unwillingness and negligence.

C'mon do we really need spider statues etc?

Anyone here ride the OC? They are PACKED...buy more damn buses so that people don't feel so cramped and maybe, just maybe more people will take the bus....its is much, much cheaper in the long run...

Yes it adds 1/2hr to my day but I know that it does make a difference.

[Bass Addict]

Ottawa River = dirty stinky Water
loaded with raw sewage
high levels of E-coli


I guess all those tampon applicators and condoms are result of excess rain water....


And nothing to do with sewage being discharged...

[The_Captain!]

Ottawa River = dirty stinky Water
loaded with raw sewage
high levels of E-coli


I guess all those tampon applicators and condoms are result of excess rain water....


And nothing to do with sewage being discharged...

I don't think anyone denies that sewage is being dumped.

The excess rainwater causes a system overload that then causes the sewage to bypass the usual treatment process. Nobody is denying this.

[Oziles]

Just a few points of clarification:

- Petrie east beach closed for 11 days in 09
- Britannia 3 days
- Mooney's Bay 7 days
- Westboro 28 days
- Petrie main beach 27 days

Westboro, upstream from the waste treatment plant, Mooney's bay on the canal. The quality of water at the east beach is a good indication of the water flow and how quickly the effluent gets brought down river. Note that some of these closures are due only to rainfall, not necessarily to water quality.

I grew up at Petrie, spent my summers on the water. I have never seen in recent years the amount of oily residue, brown foam, garbage along the shoreline that I used to see growing up here. Some mornings it was 8-10 feet wide from the shore, couldn't make it to open water without going through it. Walks along the beach could result in large numbers of condoms and other garbage back in the day. These days is a small fraction of what it used to be. Can it be improved, absolutely. Is there a media frenzy, absolutely. I appreciate the FACTS provided by the members and do emphasize that we should keep to the facts, and encourage all to keep heresay or unsubstantiated comments out of the conversation.

And I for one have no problems taking a swim in any of these waters, as I do every year, to install my marker buoys, work on docks, work on boats, rain or shine....

Cheers
Yves

[Peppino]

To paraphrase W.C. Fields, "I don't drink water, because fish screw in it."
>
> To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine.. .
>
> and those who don't.
>
> As Ben Franklin said:
>
> In wine there is wisdom,
> in beer there is freedom,
> in water there is bacteria.
>
> In a number of carefully controlled trials,
>
> scientists have demonstrated that if we drink
>
> 1 liter of water each day,
>
> at the end of the year we would have absorbed
>
> more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli , (E. coli) - bacteria
>
> found in feces.
>
> In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop..
>
> However,
>
> we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer
>
> (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor)
>
> because alcohol has to go through a purification process
>
> of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
>
>
> Remember:
>
>
> Water = Poop,
> Wine = Health.
>
>
> Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid,
> than to drink water and be full of crap.
>
> There is no need to thank me for this valuable information:
>
> I'm doing it as a public service!
>
>
>
>

[Mick]

[quote="Oziles"]Just a few points of clarification:

- Petrie east beach closed for 11 days in 09
- Britannia 3 days
- Mooney's Bay 7 days
- Westboro 28 days
- Petrie main beach 27 days

Westboro, upstream from the waste treatment plant, Mooney's bay on the canal. The quality of water at the east beach is a good indication of the water flow and how quickly the effluent gets brought down river. Note that some of these closures are due only to rainfall, not necessarily to water quality.

I grew up at Petrie, spent my summers on the water. I have never seen in recent years the amount of oily residue, brown foam, garbage along the shoreline that I used to see growing up here. Some mornings it was 8-10 feet wide from the shore, couldn't make it to open water without going through it. Walks along the beach could result in large numbers of condoms and other garbage back in the day. These days is a small fraction of what it used to be. Can it be improved, absolutely. Is there a media frenzy, absolutely. I appreciate the FACTS provided by the members and do emphasize that we should keep to the facts, and encourage all to keep heresay or unsubstantiated comments out of the conversation.

And I for one have no problems taking a swim in any of these waters, as I do every year, to install my marker buoys, work on docks, work on boats, rain or shine....

Cheers
Yves[/quote]

This is an informed, well thought out contribution to this thread by someone who has spent his life time living on the river.