As work to remove chemical drums from a water main construction site in Guelph and clean up the contaminated soil left behind continues, people living in the area say they’re just ready for it to be over.
“It’s still troublesome. It’s a headache,” Cam El-Chafehi tells CTV News.
The first eight drums were discovered last September, halting work on the Paisley-Clythe water main project near Wellington Street and the Hanlon Parkway.
At that point, tests were ordered for the drums, their contents and the soil in the surrounding area.
Twenty-one more barrels were eventually located and removed from the site.
“Two of the barrels had liquids, and one was a mixture of liquids and solids,” says Don Kudo, the city’s deputy engineer.
Those substances have been sent away for testing.
Substances found in the first batch of barrels turned out to be chemicals commonly used in fuels, solvents and manufacturing processes.
Cleaning up the site is expected to cost in the neighbourhood of $300,000.
That money will come from a contingency fund in the $30-million budget for the water main replacement project.
The first phase of construction was scheduled to be done this spring, but Kudo says completion will now likely not happen until the summer.
