Midland, Collingwood get B and B+ in sewage report card

The Great Lakes Sewage Report Card [2013]
EcoJustice Aug 12, 2013
Every year, Ontario municipalities dump billions of litres of untreated or partially treated sewage into the Great Lakes Basin.
Sewage pollution contains a foul cocktail of biological and chemical pollutants, including human waste, micro-organisms, disease-causing pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, and hundreds of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Sewage pollution affects biodiversity, water treatment costs, and our ability to enjoy our beaches as a result of closures from high levels of contamination. The Great Lakes Basin provides drinking water for millions, a home for more than 4,000 species, and is an essential part of life for Ontarians.
In The Great Lakes Sewage Report Card [2013], Ecojustice analyzed 12 Ontario municipalities for their sewage treatment and graded them according to their performance. The rankings and grades can be found in the report.
What needs to happen?
On Aug. 8, we sent our report to city councillors and mayors in the 12 ranked municipalities. We asked them to address this problem and talk to us about our recommendations, which included:
=   Getting municipalities to prioritize sewage infrastructure investment and having all levels of government fund major infrastructure improvements to upgrade antiquated sewer systems that are prone to bypasses or overflows during heavy rainfall or snowmelt.
=   Investing in green infrastructure, such as green roofs, wetlands, trees and vegetation, which can capture rainfall and reduce the amount of stormwater that may overwhelm sewer systems.
=    Reporting all releases of inadequately treated sewage to Ontarians so you’re better able to protect your family and community from water contaminated by sewage. 
What else is in the report?
=   Rankings and performance of the 12 Ontario municipalities: Brockville, Collingwood, London, Midland, Region of Peel, Sarnia, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Windsor, York and Durham Regions;
=   Updated information about sewage pollution, including combined sewer overflows and sewage bypasses;
=   Updated information about sewage treatment and laws and policies related to sewage treatment. 
This report is a follow-up to 2006’s The Great Lakes Sewage Report Card, which surveyed 20 American and Canadian cities in the Great Lakes Basin. That report found that 92 billion litres of raw sewage, mixed with stormwater, were released into the Great Lakes in one year.

Municipalities, ranked from last to first:
12. Windsor (-C)
11. London (-C)
10. Toronto (C)
9. St. Catharines (C)
8. Sudbury (C)
7. Sarnia (C+)
6. Brockville (B)
5. Midland (B)
4. Kitchener-Waterloo (B+)
3. Collingwood (B+)
2. York and Durham (B+)
1. Peel Region (A-)
– See more