Join us Sat. Nov. 30th, 2pm, at the Firepit, Trillium Park, for a Fireside Chat about water safety and the proposal to fast-track development by chopping off sewer pipes and just letting the sewage accumulate right beside the shore rather than way out in the lake where it should go.
Here's a starting point (draft); would welcome input on it on Saturday:
Identifying parties responsible for gross negligence and willful misconduct and violation of engineering ethics.
As a professional engineer (P. Eng.) licensed to practice in Ontario, I have a moral and ethical duty to put the safety of the public above my personal interests and those of the corporations or individuals who retain me. As professional engineers, we also have a duty to report unethical or potentially harmful behaviour that we encounter, whether or not we have been retained where we encounter it.
Recently (November 22), It has come to my attention that there is a plan to remove four safety sewage pipes that now carry combined sewer outfall (CSO) from the mainland at the shore of Lake Ontario, in downtown Toronto, out into the open water of Lake Ontario as far as Ontario Place West Island, and that this work is to begin very soon (December 2024).
Removal of these safety pipes has been proposed in order to fast-track development of Ontario Place, in preparation for landfill deposition into Lake Ontario to expand the West Island at Ontario Place, around where the sewer pipes now discharge safely into open water away from the mainland of downtown Toronto.
The proposed removal, however temporary it may be or is alleged to be, of the safety sewage pipes, (which presently send the overflow into deeper waters allowing for dispersal in waters NOT adjacent to areas that are presently the cleanest areas on the waterfront) is dangerous to the health and safety of anyone, especially those using the publicly-accessible swimming, paddling, and rowing channel known as "Ontario Place West Channel", as sewage would collect on our shores, behind the breakwall.
The four sewage pipe safety extensions that are currently in place were designed by professional engineers, with public safety as one of the paramount engineering considerations, and were installed and reviewed by professional engineers to stringent design standards. It is harmful and unethical to allow a business deal with a foreign national corporation to drive water-safety policy or actions in the City of Toronto which is the largest city on the Great Lakes, and to which the world expects responsible water stewardship.
I have a recording that was started during a 2-hour online consultation discussion that took place on Friday, 2024 November 22, from 11:30am to 1:30pm, of which I was an invited party. The recording was started at the instant that it became evident that engineering ethics were in question, and the recording continued until the end of the online meeting. The consultation was entitled "Ontario Place - Dufferin CSO Stage 1 Works Stakeholder Consultation". This recording would be used for whistleblowing and identifying responsible parties if necessary.
At this recent "Ontario Place - Dufferin CSO Stage 1 Works Stakeholder Consultation", which I attended, some harm mitigation was discussed. The proposals presented by the engineers (and/or those representing the professional engineers who would have been or ought to have been retained for the mitigation design) are clearly aimed to fast-track and expedite a process (both in terms of time and finances), as opposed to finding a solution that even reasonably minimizes the harmful impact of the proposed cutting of the four sewage lines.
Due to the imminent harm to public safety presented by the proposed work, there is little time to go through a slow hierarchy of escalation and therefore it is necessary to escalate this matter at all levels (internal, external, PEO, etc.). This appears to be an obvious instance in which professional engineer(s) are neglecting their paramount duty to the public.
The engineering assessment/analysis has recommended that raw sewage be dumped and collected in a containment pool immediately adjacent to the shoreline within the Downtown Toronto Urban Growth Centre, at the exact spot where many members of the public relax and recreate, swim, paddle, and row. As a professional engineer I am obliged to report this dereliction of professional duty and breach of ethics of Professional Engineer(s) to the PEO.
Please respond if you have anything to say on this matter.
Steve
Prof. Steve Mann, PhD (MIT '97), P. Eng. (Ontario), FIEEE
Recently (November 22), It has come to my attention that there is a plan to remove four safety sewage pipes that now carry combined sewer outfall (CSO) from the mainland at the shore of Lake Ontario, in downtown Toronto, out into the open water of Lake Ontario as far as Ontario Place West Island, and that this work is to begin very soon (December 2024).
Removal of these safety pipes has been proposed in order to fast-track development of Ontario Place, in preparation for landfill deposition into Lake Ontario to expand the West Island at Ontario Place, around where the sewer pipes now discharge safely into open water away from the mainland of downtown Toronto.
The proposed removal, however temporary it may be or is alleged to be, of the safety sewage pipes, (which presently send the overflow into deeper waters allowing for dispersal in waters NOT adjacent to areas that are presently the cleanest areas on the waterfront) is dangerous to the health and safety of anyone, especially those using the publicly-accessible swimming, paddling, and rowing channel known as "Ontario Place West Channel", as sewage would collect on our shores, behind the breakwall.
The four sewage pipe safety extensions that are currently in place were designed by professional engineers, with public safety as one of the paramount engineering considerations, and were installed and reviewed by professional engineers to stringent design standards. It is harmful and unethical to allow a business deal with a foreign national corporation to drive water-safety policy or actions in the City of Toronto which is the largest city on the Great Lakes, and to which the world expects responsible water stewardship.
I have a recording that was started during a 2-hour online consultation discussion that took place on Friday, 2024 November 22, from 11:30am to 1:30pm, of which I was an invited party. The recording was started at the instant that it became evident that engineering ethics were in question, and the recording continued until the end of the online meeting. The consultation was entitled "Ontario Place - Dufferin CSO Stage 1 Works Stakeholder Consultation". This recording would be used for whistleblowing and identifying responsible parties if necessary.
At this recent "Ontario Place - Dufferin CSO Stage 1 Works Stakeholder Consultation", which I attended, some harm mitigation was discussed. The proposals presented by the engineers (and/or those representing the professional engineers who would have been or ought to have been retained for the mitigation design) are clearly aimed to fast-track and expedite a process (both in terms of time and finances), as opposed to finding a solution that even reasonably minimizes the harmful impact of the proposed cutting of the four sewage lines.
The mitigation strategies discussed, such as building a "turbidity curtain", would merely capture and retain unsightly debris beside downtown Toronto's shoreline, and still allow dangerous e-coli to escape. Moreover, building a large cesspool right next to our downtown Toronto shoreline, behind the breakwall, where it will not dissipate very quickly, is both irresponsible and unethical, when there is really no reason to do it, other than to remove the existing safety pipes from a place where developers wish to build immediately without solving the underlying problem.
See attached excerpts from screenshots of the video, contrasting the before (safe) and after (dangerous) conditions on work scheduled to begin next month (December 2024), as well as some pictures of the West Channel in use.
Due to the imminent harm to public safety presented by the proposed work, there is little time to go through a slow hierarchy of escalation and therefore it is necessary to escalate this matter at all levels (internal, external, PEO, etc.). This appears to be an obvious instance in which professional engineer(s) are neglecting their paramount duty to the public.
The engineering assessment/analysis has recommended that raw sewage be dumped and collected in a containment pool immediately adjacent to the shoreline within the Downtown Toronto Urban Growth Centre, at the exact spot where many members of the public relax and recreate, swim, paddle, and row. As a professional engineer I am obliged to report this dereliction of professional duty and breach of ethics of Professional Engineer(s) to the PEO.
Please respond if you have anything to say on this matter.
Steve
Prof. Steve Mann, PhD (MIT '97), P. Eng. (Ontario), FIEEE
Join the event on Facebook and elsewhere:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1062953648642783/
https://www.swimop.com/2024/11/2pm-sat-nov-30-fireside-chat-on.html