Ottawa's plan to fix its ongoing sewage problems now has the support of Ontario's environment commissioner.
After days of touring facilities and assessing the situation, Gord Miller said Tuesday that the city is on the right track, and if implemented correctly, sewage spills into the Ottawa River should be a thing of the past within three years.
"No fatal flaws have been identified to me," Miller said. "I have confidence this plan could work."
Regulator overflows caused nearly 900 million litres of sewage to spill into the river between and April and November 2008.
The City of Ottawa is installing real-time controls as a blocking mechanism to hopefully reduce spills by 65 per cent by next summer. Sewer separation and storage tanks are also parts of the $400-million plan.
"We'll be diverting a tremendous amount of flow from the river and we'll be achieving some real gains in terms of protecting the environment," said Dixon Weir, the city's general manager of environmental services.
With public opinion in mind, the city asked Miller to assess the plan.
"We've heard all summer long that (the public doesn't) have the confidence that we're moving as swiftly as we can and it's good to have an independent third set of eyes to take a look at it," said Coun. Peter Hume, chairman of the planning and environment committee.
Ottawa Riverkeeper Meredith Brown said all riverside municipalities must jump onboard and work together.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Maggie Padlewska
