A local construction company is under scrutiny after a concerned resident posted photos online of workers allegedly dumping what appeared to be concrete waste down a sewer.
The images, which quickly garnered attention online, showed individuals wearing construction vests unloading liquid material out of a Hi-Tech Concrete Cutting truck into a storm drain on a residential street.
The incident has sparked many reactions amongst Torontonians, who are concerned about the dangers of construction-related pollutants entering the sewer system.
“That’s infuriating,” one person wrote on Reddit. “Not only is it illegal under the Sewers By-law, it’s also just plain reckless.”
“I wonder how long they’ve been doing this,” another user questioned.
“Awful,” another said. “Why do they think it’s okay to do that?!?”
In response to the public backlash, Hi-Tech Concrete Cutting issued a statement denying that the substance was concrete or slurry.
“Today we had a concerned citizen take pictures of what they thought was one of our crews dumping concrete into a street catch basin,” the company said in a now-deleted Instagram post on Monday.
“We just wanted to clarify that this is not concrete! We did a small job in a basement of a home for a client and after washing the area down they collected the water and dumped that in the catch basin.”
The company went on to acknowledge that, regardless of the material, dumping anything into storm drains is against company policy and municipal regulations.
“No matter what was dumped, nothing is ever to be dumped into a catch basin,” the statement continued.
“The company is taking this matter very seriously and the persons involved will be disciplined accordingly. The proper care of the environment is the responsibility of us all.”
The City of Toronto also responded to the incident, emphasizing the environmental risks and legal consequences of such actions.
“The City takes illegal dumping and waste spills seriously as pollutants can damage critical infrastructure and pose a serious threat to the environment and aquatic life,” a city spokesperson told Now Toronto on Tuesday.
“To protect Toronto’s waterways and community health, the City has the Sewers By-Law that prohibits any substance other than rainwater or melted snow from entering catch basins.”
Under the city’s regulations, any non-rainwater substance discharged into a catch basin is considered a “spill to the sewer system,” and violators can face fines up to $50,000 for a first offence.
The city encouraged residents to report any suspected illegal dumping by contacting 311 through phone, the city’s website, or the mobile app.
