City of Kitchener cleaning up spill at Schneider Creek

Schneider Creek in Kitchener on Aug. 6, 2024. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News)

The City of Kitchener is dealing with a spill at Schneider Creek near the Rockway Golf Course.

A city representative said a suspected hydrocarbon spill was spotted around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday and crews responded “immediately.”

‘Hydrocarbon’ refers to a class of chemicals that contains hydrogen and carbon atoms, which can be found in oil and natural gas. The city did not specifically say what the spill contained.

Region of Waterloo Environmental Enforcement and the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks were also involved in the efforts to contain the spill.

Staff from the region’s Engineering and Environmental Services Department went to the area after they were told about the spill by a member of the public on Nov. 11 around 3:30 p.m.

A statement from the region on Wednesday said, in part, “In the absence of a responsible party, the City of Kitchener took immediate action to minimize impacts from the spill.”

The city said crews would continue the clean-up until the spill had been fully removed. The impact to the area was also expected to be minimal, but the city promised they would keep a close eye on things.

A boom remained in Schneider Creek on Thursday morning.

It is unclear what caused the spill or where it came from.

The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks said its Spills Action Centre was notified about the spill on Nov. 11 around 5:50 p.m.

“There was no indication of stressed aquatic life or vegetation during the assessment and no environmental impact is expected. The City of Kitchener has contracted the services of a spills cleanup company to mitigate and remediate the material that discharged to the creek,” the ministry said, in part, in an email.