For over a year, sludge has been leaking into the Welland River—officials still don’t know where it’s coming from

One year ago, residents of Niagara Falls stood on the banks of the Welland River in dismay. 

As reported by The Pointer, a mysterious, rainbow sheen was observed spreading across the water in July 2024. Fearing the oily substance, which had a “powerful smell of oil” was likely toxic to the surrounding ecosystem and aquatic life, Mike Cushman and Sarah Ward, two local environmental advocates, reported the leak to the City of Niagara Falls and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP). 

(Submitted)

This dedicated advocacy triggered months of inspections, cleanup attempts and mounting public pressure as the oily substance reappeared repeatedly—but no clear source was identified. Two months later, the situation went from bad to worse, as inspections and investigations failed to come up with any answers and further leaks were reported.

Hazmat crews were deployed, a vacuum truck was brought in to remove surface contamination, and a sock boom was installed in an effort to contain the spreading slick. The spill entered the Welland River through a stormwater outfall near Chippawa Parkway—but how the substance was getting into the storm sewer remained unknown. 

Two months later, in September 2024, a thick, black, oily contaminant reappeared, intensifying public concern. Despite camera inspections and sewer flushing, officials admitted they were no closer to identifying the source. The situation appeared to be worsening, with the residue returning intermittently and environmental risks increasing, particularly for a river that flows directly into the Niagara River and ultimately Lake Ontario—a source of drinking water for approximately 9 million people. 

Fast forward to July 8, 2025, and the problem persists.

Mike Cushman and Sarah Ward tracing the source of the oil slick to a municipal sewer outlet south of Chippawa Parkway and the Stanley Business Park in July 2024.

(Ed Smith/The Pointer files)

City of Niagara Falls officials previously said they are working with the MECP while conducting inspections and monitoring of the site. Officials maintained that while the source remained unknown, they believed municipal infrastructure was likely not responsible. They acknowledged the limited impact of containment measures like sock booms and cited resource limitations as hindering efforts to identify the source and stop the leak. Both staff and elected officials emphasized their reliance on the MECP, pointing to its greater expertise and capacity to address an issue of this scale.

Over the course of the last year, the MECP has referenced ongoing inspections of local industries as part of its efforts to determine the source of the contaminants. Officials also noted dialogue is ongoing to ensure industries are aware of “their obligations under environmental legislation.”

The efforts by the City and MECP have not resulted in any meaningful change.

Another oily, black discharge was observed in early July at the same Chippawa Parkway outfall. Observations suggest it may be the worst one yet. Once again, citizen watchdogs were among the first to observe and report the leak.
 

A worker uses a vacuum to try and remove the oily substance from the surface of the Welland River in early July.

(Sarah Ward) 

According to the MECP, the ministry is leaving it in the hands of the municipality to find where the sludge is coming from. 

“In the absence of an obvious source, the City of Niagara Falls has taken responsibility, as the owner of the storm sewer, to clean up the material and search for the cause. MECP continues to help the City as it conducts its ongoing search,” Elizabeth Chee Sing, Compliance Supervisor at the MECP, told The Pointer. 

Erik Nickel, Director of Municipal Works for the City of Niagara Falls, explained the City has been unable to locate other traces of the black substance inside the municipal storm sewer, noting it “appears to be very clean”.

Nickel added that the City has conducted CCTV inspections, opened manholes and catchbasins to conduct searches, and even installed surveillance cameras to rule out illegal dumping. The City maintains that the problem does not originate from municipal infrastructure.

“Since the city’s runoff from our roads and City-owned property are not the cause of the discharge, we are not in a position at this time to take on the responsibility for any costly infrastructure upgrades,” Nickel said. 

Still, Nickel noted that the City is pursuing longer-term measures to address the issue. A new sewer use bylaw is being developed to enable enforcement and fines for illegal discharges once a responsible party is identified. The bylaw, if ratified by council, would empower the City to issue monetary fines and obtain restitution for damages “caused by illegal discharges”. These increased penalties would only be effective once a source is identified. It’s unclear what additional resources are being deployed in the effort to track down who is responsible for the leak. 

For Cushman and Ward, the two advocates responsible for ensuring the City and MECP take action on the leak, the most recent response is frustratingly familiar. Though not the ones to initially discover this spill, they quickly mobilized to monitor cleanup efforts and continue the push for answers. Both remain undeterred by what they see as a lack of meaningful progress.

“The actions taken by the Ministry and the City have been minimal at best. They are being reactive, not proactive. By the time a spill happens, it’s already too late. This reactive approach allows industry to dump at will with no fear of repercussions,” Cushman said.

The oily substance leaks overtop of a failing sock boom in September 2024.

(Sarah Ward)

He remains adamant that the contamination can be resolved if governing authorities commit the necessary effort. He argues that the network of pipes leading to the outfall is limited and well documented, and that further chemical test results should offer clear clues about the source of the potential toxins. In his view, what’s lacking is not information, but the will to act on it.

The provincial government has known for a number of years that its response to such spills is inadequate. In 2021, the Auditor General of Ontario released a damning report that found a number of shortcomings in the government’s response to spills that could threaten the environment. Among a long list of critiques aimed at the various environmental ministries, the AG noted the MECP does not conduct adequate regulatory activities to reduce the risk of the most common sources of spills impacting human health and the environment; the enforcement regime does not effectively ensure compliance with the regulations that do exist; the ministry does not disclose sufficient information to the public about the quantity of hazardous spills and the harm they cause; and they are not recovering costs from responding to spills, resulting in taxpayers—not the polluters—paying for the cleanup.  She further noted that “the hazardous spill enforcement regime is not strong enough to bring entities into compliance in a timely manner or deter repeat violations.” 

In a 2023 follow-up to the initial report, the auditor general noted that the MECP has chosen not to implement most of the recommendations contained in the initial report.

It’s believed the source of the sludge leaking into the Welland River is somewhere inside the Stanley Business Park. The site of the leak is in the lower portion of the photograph at the outlet of the municipal storm sewer.

(City of Niagara Falls)

“It’s incredibly disappointing that yet another major spill has occurred on the exact date as last year,” Ward said. 

Last year, she went so far as to pay for independent sample analysis to understand what she and the environment were being exposed to. Her testing revealed elevated levels of calcium, magnesium, molybdenum, sodium, strontium, barium, boron, lithium, potassium, oil, and grease. She believes the full list of contaminants could be longer, but the high cost prevented her from continuing the analysis.

Despite the work from the ministry and City officials, one glaring truth remains: the source of the pollutant is still unknown. The Welland River continues to bear the burden of that uncertainty.

The ongoing contamination raises pressing questions, like who is responsible; what type of enforcement action is being taken to ensure similar incidents aren’t repeated in other areas of the city; and what are the long-term impacts of this sludge on the river and the residents who live nearby?

With summer bringing increased rainfall and storm runoff, as well as increased recreational river use as residents take to the outdoors to enjoy the warmer months, answers to questions like these become even more critical.

Community members want authorities to expedite policy changes, proactively enforce environmental laws, and adopt more aggressive investigative tactics. They believe the solution is out there—but what's missing is the political will to act on it.

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