Crews continue monitoring gas odour in Wheatley as residents remain on edge

There’s been a strong smell of gas in Wheatley again, in the same area hydrogen sulfide was found days before. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell reports.

Emergency crews continue to monitor a gas odour first reported outside the Wheatley library on Canada Day, as concern lingers in the community and experts warn the issue may be part of a much larger, long-term challenge.

Chatham-Kent Fire Chief Chris Case said local emergency officials were acting on a call made after someone reported the smell of gas near the Talbot Street branch.

“This was exactly what we were asking for,” said Case.

“We asked people if they smelled gas or if there were any issues, they should call us. And that’s exactly what they did.”

Officials say no gas is currently being detected in the area. However, monitoring and investigation efforts continue at the site — just a few blocks from the location of a devastating explosion in 2021 that injured 20 people and levelled buildings.

“We still have firefighters and engineers who are visiting not just this site, but the original site of the explosion,” said Case.

“Those sites get visited once or twice a day just to check that everything’s working, and to check that we don’t have any issues. So, there’s a constant presence going back and forth onto the site.”

Residents say the renewed smell has brought back difficult memories.

“It’s going to go on like this for a while,” said Wheatley resident, Ron Shaw.

“People are going to be a little bit uptight about it until they finally figured out exactly what’s going on.”

Shaw said there’s uncertainty and tension in the community.

“People are on edge right now because of it. If they smell anything at all, they’re going to, they’re certainly going to say something. We’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.

“After what happened to the corner, nothing seems as bad. I mean, right now, even if they do smell it, it’s not going to ignite like it did before. Just a matter of finding out where it’s coming from.”

Shaw said they go by what they hear, and right now, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the town. All anyone knows is they smelled gas.

“They’re going to be careful and do what they have to do,” he said.

“I mean, if there was anything really dangerous, you wouldn’t be allowed here. You wouldn’t be able to get this close. So, let’s see what happens.”

Case acknowledged those fears and said it’s an issue many Ontario communities will be living with for years to come.

“We always say that we get paid to worry so you don’t have to. Which I don’t think would be fair the people of Wheatley who are living with this concern, this obvious concern,” he said.

“As you’ve heard from us, from the province, this is a major issue with over 20,000 known wells in Ontario. We will work to deal with this specific well. We’ll work to either put a stack on it or to permanently close it, as the investigations continue.”

Case added that it is something that emergency responders and the community will be planning for and living with for a long time.

“[Dealing with] Smells of gas and potentially finding unknown wells, or wells leaking, and being able to deal with them without causing too much concern to the community and without causing too much disruption. But we always err on the side of caution,” he said.

Maurice Dusseault, an Adjunct Professor at the University of Waterloo, who has researched oil and gas well integrity, said these kinds of situations are the result of Ontario’s aging infrastructure of both documented and undocumented wells.

“The moment you smell rotten eggs, there’s an issue. But the good thing is, is that our noses are extremely sensitive, and we can detect rotten egg smell down to less than one parts per million,” Dusseault said.

“Unfortunately, this problem is going to be with us for many, many decades into the future because we have about 27,000 known wells in Ontario and perhaps as many as 10 to 15,000 undocumented wells in Ontario that were drilled back in the 1800s and 1900s. This legacy is going to haunt us for generations to come, as we find these old wells that are undocumented, one after another… and Wheatley is just the most recent example of this process.”

He added that there are no easy or inexpensive fixes.

“It’s not cheap. This is the problem,” Dusseault said.

“A practical solution is not easily available because how do you identify the pathway to the surface?”

As of Wednesday, gas was no longer being detected at the library site, but Chatham-Kent officials said the location remains under active observation.