A data centre in Cambridge, Ont., is once again under scrutiny after a milky white substance was spotted in a nearby stormwater management pond. Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) said they were notified about an “odorous milky white substance” at 17 Vondrau Drive on July 19. The property belongs to Ascent’s TOR1 Data Centre. MECP also said the region’s drinking water system was not impacted by the incident. The Grand River Conservation Authority confirmed it had provided an estimate about how long it would take the substance to reach the City of Brantford’s drinking water intake at the city’s request. In July, Related Digital, the co-owner of Ascent, told CTV News the milky white substance was a bacterial bloom caused by “stagnant water, high temperatures and the breakdown of naturally occurring organic matter.” Now, months later, questions are being raised about what happened over the summer and Ontario NDP MPP Catherine Fife has released a statement calling for accountability. Fife’s statement Fife’s statement says a 5,000 litre chemical spill had been reported weeks before the bacterial bloom was spotted on July 19. “The fact that we’re only learning about this three months later is completely unacceptable,” Fife wrote. “Both the owners, and the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks knew that this had happened, and chose to force residents to file Freedom of Information requests about what was happening in their own backyard.” She also accused the provincial government of being “content to just take Related Digital at their word.” “That’s not good enough. We need a full, clear picture of how this happened, what the effects were, and what action was taken to ensure accountability and safety for Cambridge residents,” Fife wrote. Related Digital confirms spill Related Digital told CTV News a spill had happened on July 2, and it was reported to the Provincial Spills Action Centre and the Regional Spills Reporting Hotline. They said the substance was 75 per cent water and a 25 per cent concentration of propylene glycol. The chemical has many industrial uses, most commonly antifreeze. It can be also used to absorb extra water, as a solvent for food colours and flavours, or making artificial smoke or fog. Propylene glycol is colourless in appearance. Adam Yates, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Waterloo, said propylene glycol itself poses low toxicity risk in aquatic environments, but it can interact with microbes. “By the time it would get into the environment, it would not be harmful to humans, it would be too diluted,” Yates said, noting that at low concentrations, glycol can serve as a food source for bacterial growth. “Any time that large amounts of carbon get added to ecosystems, you have the opportunity for a bacterial growth explosion,” Yates explained. “To say what type of carbon was in the pond or in the river is really not possible. There’s lots of other sources of carbon that exist in the environment.” Ontario’s Ministry of Environment told CTV News the chemical was being used for the data centre’s onsite cooling system. “Licensed [qualified professionals] retained by ownership, under the supervision of the MECP, determined that the algae bloom that occurred in the pond was coincidental and unrelated to the earlier glycol spill,” a spokesperson for Related Digital told CTV News in an emailed statement on Wednesday. “This determination was supported by extensive, ministry-mandated, subsequent testing of the pond water and impacted soil. As we stated previously, we believe the algae bloom to have resulted from stagnant water, high temperatures, and the breakdown of naturally occurring organic matter that caused anaerobic conditions in the stormwater detention pond.” The company said the pond was fully drained and reopened, with approval from the Ministry of the Environment, on Oct. 23. The ministry said the discharged substance “was contained to the roof.” In an emailed statement on Wednesday, they confirmed, “The ministry separately responded to reports of odourous water at the site on July 20, 2026 and collected samples from the pond. Laboratory testing determined this incident was caused by a bacterial bloom with no other contaminants of concern, including glycol, identified.” The email concluded with the ministry “has not established any link between the two incidents.” Fife is calling for the testing results from the incident to be released to the public.
