The Township of Rideau Lakes has received the final update to the Environmental Monitoring Report from WSP, the professional consultants who were hired to investigate any ground water or surface water impacts resulting from the Station #2 fire in the village of Portland.

The first report by WSP was released by the Township on March 18, 2022 and indicated that impacts from the recent fire were initially evident in the catch basin located directly adjacent to the site of the former Portland Fire Hall, but no impacts to Big Rideau Lake were expected. All catch basins leading towards the water down St. Mary’s Street were cleaned and vacuumed after the initial fire event by a licensed haulage company.

Following this initial report by WSP in March 2022, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) requested that the Township conduct another round of groundwater and stormwater sampling to confirm the initial results.

The follow up testing confirms the initial findings and concludes that there is no anticipated impact to Big Rideau Lake, and the groundwater supply does not appear to be adversely impacted from the runoff of the former Station #2 site. Although elevated concentrations of some Canadian Water Quality Guideline (CWQG) parameters were reported in the catch-basin sampling, WSP concluded that these elevated concentrations are not a result of the Station #2 fire based on background testing of an upstream catch basin that reported similar results. The Township’s ongoing drainage project with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) is working on improving village stormwater run off, specifically in the village of Portland.

This final report comes after several samples of groundwater, soil, and catch basin runoff were collected and tested over the winter and spring of 2022. WSP and the Township of Rideau Lakes have worked closely with the MECP to ensure impacts from the fire remain isolated to the site itself.

The final report was submitted to the MECP for review in October 2022, however they have yet to provide summary comments to the Township. The full Environmental Monitoring Report can be accessed by contacting the Manager of Facilities and Parks at

CONTACT:

Scott Granahan
Fire Chief
Township of Rideau Lakes
1-800-928-2250 ext. 237

Mike Dwyer
Chief Administrative Officer
Township of Rideau Lakes
1-800-928-2250 ext. 231