A two-week cleanup of an oil spill in the Grand River has cost the City of Kitchener $1.3 million.
City officials say Code Yellow Towing, a business with a property on Forwell Road in east Kitchener, notified environmental officials about the spill on May 3 – four days after it was first discovered.
The spill came from an 800-litre barrel of used motor oil from the Forwell Road property. It is believed that about half of the barrel’s contents ended up spilling.
The city took the lead on cleaning up the spill and remediating areas around the river affected by it.
In total, 732,900 litres of water and nearly 750 tonnes of soil were removed from the area due to possible contamination.
Remediation is still ongoing on private properties near the river.
City officials say they will be seeking reimbursement of its cleanup costs from its insurance provider.
