City of Guelph and company fined for discharging raw sewage in Eramosa River

Guelph City Hall is seen on Oct. 3, 2022. (Dan Lauckner/CTV Kitchener)

The City of Guelph and a local company will need to cough up thousands of dollars after raw sewage ended up in the Eramosa River.

The incident happened when the city was replacing watermains and sanitary sewers in 2019. Varcon Construction Corporation was given the contract for the first phase of the work.

The company put together a bypass system for sanitary sewage and completed the installation by Feb. 15, 2019.

Two days later, the bypass failed and raw sewage spilled into the Eramosa River Park.

“The bypass system was not being monitored at the time of the spill because the retained security guard was stationed at an incorrect location,” the decision from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, said.

A resident told the city about the spill around 9:30 a.m. that day and staff were able to restart a pump and stop the spread.

The damaged pump was then replaced by two smaller pumps and trained staff were brought in for 24-hour monitoring.

On Feb. 20, the level of sanitary sewage began to rise in a maintenance hole and overwhelmed the bypass system when one of the smaller pumps failed.

Varcon crews were on site and excavated pits to contain the new sewage spill. A vacuum truck from the city was also brought in to divert some of the sewage. Despite their attempts to contain the spill, sewage flowed into the Eramosa River.

In a media release dated June 3, the ministry said the City of Guelph pleaded guilty to one violation of the Ontario Water Resources Act on Feb 10, 2023 and was fined $85,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $21,250. The city was given one year to pay.

On Oct. 3, 2025, following a trial, Varcon Construction Corporation was found guilty of one violation of the Ontario Water Resources Act. The company was fined $185,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $46,250. The company was given six months to pay.