Letter from New Brunswick
The Saint John Harbour cleanup: Ready, set…go?

By Tim Vickers

Of all the environmental initiatives proposed to take place within the Gulf of Maine, one of the greatest improvements to its socioeconomic potential might well be the Saint John, New Brunswick, Harbour Cleanup.

Often misquoted as being a dredging or habitat recovery operation, the term 'Harbour Cleanup' simply refers to the municipal infrastructure project that will bring an end to the practice of discharging 16 million litres (4.2 million gallons) of raw sewage into the Gulf of Maine and other watercourses each day. And while it is true that other municipalities on Canada's east coast (including Halifax, Nova Scotia and St. John's, Newfoundland) discharge raw sewage into their harbours, Saint John, New Brunswick, has the unenviable distinction of being the only municipality to have open sewers running through the heart of the city. The deposition of untreated wastewater into our urban streams has created third-world conditions in a country that champions itself as a world leader in protecting its natural capital.

Health risks

The environmental implications of the ongoing deposition of untreated wastewater are enormous. Above all else, the extreme human health risks have necessitated warning signs be placed near the streams and harbours to try and deter residents and tourists from swimming, fishing or allowing their pets to contact the contaminated waters. Unfortunately, the simple graphics on the signs belittle the extent of the problem. Specifically, Canadian guidelines suggest that waters with more than 200 faecal coliform bacteria per 100 millilitre (seven tablespoon) sample are unsafe for recreational uses such as swimming, wading or fishing. Marsh Creek, an urban watercourse that empties into the Bay of Fundy, has routinely recorded faecal coliform counts in excess of seven million bacteria per 100 millilitre water sample. Dutchman's Creek (a tributary of Marsh Creek) is so far above this value that the Atlantic Coastal Action Program (ACAP) Saint John doesn't even bother sampling it.

Concerns about the recreational and commercial fisheries in Saint John Harbour spawned a 2005 study on the faecal contamination of Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) and mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus). The study, 'Swimming in Sewage. Indicators of faecal waste on fish in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada,' examined the occurrence of fecal coliform bacteria on the surface of resident fishes. The study found a positive relationship between coliform concentrations in the water and those found on the surface of resident fishes. The findings resulted in an investigation by Environment Canada into the legal repercussions of the continued discharging of untreated municipal wastewater into our waters. Their conclusions are pending.

Saint John Harbour is the gateway to the St. John River, a magnificent watercourse that extends more than 670 kilometres (416 miles) through New Brunswick, and into Quebec and Maine. Each year millions of migratory fishes, including shad, gaspereau, sturgeon, striped bass, smelt, American eels, Atlantic salmon and Brook trout pass through the narrow, 180-meter (197-yard) confines of the Reversing Falls in Saint John Harbour. Subsequently, thousands of piscivorous (fish-eating) birds, seals and fishes capitalize on this rich food source, much to the delight of residents and tourists. Just how much of a chemical deterrent the Saint John Harbour poses to these migratory fishes or to what degree the bioaccumulation of chemicals and metals affect their physiology is unknown. What is known, however, is that discharging raw sewage is clearly detrimental to aquatic life, and to the organisms that rely upon clean waters.

Priority an issue

Remarkably, there have been government representatives who within the past 18 months would not endorse the Saint John Harbour Cleanup as a priority for this region. Clearly they must have missed the hundreds of media articles depicting the used condoms, tampons and cotton ear swabs strewn along our beaches. Or perhaps they were fortunate enough to avoid the sections of the city where raw sewage cooking in the summer sun created odours strong and offensive enough to have resulted in the temporary closure of nearby businesses. Maybe they were out of town when the Regional Medical Health Officer repeatedly voiced his concerns over the potential for communicable diseases to be transmitted through contact with our urban watercourses. Either way, we are fortunate that this antiquated line of thinking is quickly being displaced by a more educated class of politicians. In fact, political representatives from all three levels of government have recently voiced their commitment to Harbour Cleanup.

What brought about the change? In short, it was the community itself, through a number of high-profile events, which turned the tide on Harbour Cleanup. The chronology of these events includes a Public Forum on Harbour Cleanup in October of 2004, the record-breaking response in a public opinion poll in June of 2006, and the release of the 2005 study on the contamination of fishes in our watercourses. The effects of this public outcry were the establishment of Harbour Cleanup as a major issue during a recent federal election, and two provincial elections. Harbour Cleanup has now been endorsed as the top priority by the Saint John City Council, and a written memorandum of understanding has committed the province of New Brunswick to provide to pay a third of the Canadian $88 million price tag.

Despite the newfound political will, ground remains unbroken on the construction of the third sewage treatment plant needed to move this project forward. The problem is that the city of Saint John and the province of New Brunswick must have the federal government's commitment to co-fund this project. While federal representatives suggest that a written commitment is forthcoming as early as the spring of 2007, the community maintains its well-founded skepticism.

Saint John is a community trying to improve its image as a clean and healthy place to work and raise a family. Rich in history and natural resources, Saint John is well situated to become a model of urban living. However, the legacy of water pollution first must be corrected. With fingers crossed, we work towards convincing our federal government that Harbour Cleanup will have broad-reaching implications for the city, the province and the country. Meanwhile, in the time it took to read this article, nearly 40,000 litres (11,623 gallons) of raw sewage have poured into the Gulf of Maine via Saint John Harbour.

Tim Vickers is executive director of the Atlantic Coastal Action Program, Saint John, New Brunswick. He can be reached at acapsj@rogers.com.

© 2007 The Gulf of Maine Times