Port Stanley Harbour and Kettle Creek

Clean up of industrial contamination

The Ministry of the Environment cleaned up the Shamrock Chemicals site in the mid-1990s to stop off-site movement of oil tar.  An oil gasification plant operated on the property from 1920 to 1950. Shamrock Chemicals manufactured fertilizers on the property from 1970 to 1985. The ministry also oversaw the clean up of other industrial properties to stop contamination from moving off the properties into nearby Kettle Creek.

Follow-up monitoring showed that the creek had returned to its previous condition and the clean up work was successful. Monitoring of organisms living in the sediment showed that the creek’s ecosystem had returned to its previous state. Remediating the creek was not necessary.

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) contamination in Kettle Creek is very localized and bound to sediment buried in the creek.  Based on testing that the ministry has done in the past and on all information reviewed to date, there is no indication that this contamination is moving down the creek.

Drinking water supply

Drinking water from the Elgin Primary Area Water Supply meets Ontario’s drinking water standards. Every year an accredited laboratory conducts more than 2,500 water quality tests on the drinking water supply.

• Elgin Primary Area Water Supply Inspection Summary

Learn more about the Elgin Primary Area Water Supply on the City of London’s website.

2009 sampling of Kettle Creek

The ministry sampled sediments in Kettle Creek this summer. The results will be ready and released to the public in spring 2010.

Scientific and technical information

The ministry has reviewed more than 30 reports about the environmental conditions of Kettle Creek, Port Stanley Harbour, former industrial sites and the drinking water system.  You can read the reports on this list at the ministry’s office at 733 Exeter Road in London.  Please call 519-873-5000 to make an appointment to view the reports.

Divestiture of Port Stanley Harbour

The Municipality of Central Elgin is negotiating with Transport Canada about taking over ownership of Port Stanley Harbour from the federal government. Visit the municipality’s website for information about the divestiture of the harbour.