The dumping of billions of litres of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River near Montreal began Wednesday, after weeks of political wrangling over the plan, which would allow for repairs to an old sewer pipe.
The main dump was over by Saturday night, after an estimated 4.9 billion litres of raw sewage had been released into the river. Raw sewage will still be dumped into the river for the next ten days to allow for further repairs, but only from one pipe. The city is advising residents to avoid all contact with the water until further notice.
Although Montreal’s drinking water is collected upstream, communities downstream of the release, including some Indigenous communities, have expressed serious concerns about the dump and its impact on their drinking water and environment.
This video report was produced and edited by Nicky Young, and hosted by Yasmine Hassan.
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