Spill Response

The City takes all spills seriously. This includes spills that enter:

• the environment, including rivers, streams and Lake Ontario
• the sewer system through maintenance holes or catch basins (square grates on the road)

What to Do

If you see a spill

Report all spills to 311 immediately. Submit a service request online to report:

• spills into waterways and sewers or onto City road allowance
• spills from a waste collection truck
• spills at a waste transfer station

If calling 311 to report a spill, you can request to remain anonymous.

If you or your business are responsible for a spill

If you are an industry or business that has accidentally discharged substances into the sewer or environment, you must report the spill to 311 immediately and submit a detailed spill report within five days of the spill. The report must include:

• location, volume and duration of the spill
• name and telephone number of person reporting the spill
• date and time of the spill
• name and characteristics of the material spilled
• work completed to mitigate the spill
• preventative measures put in place to avoid another incident

Every effort must be made to contain, minimize damage and clean up the spill. In the event this does not occur, the City is authorized under provincial legislation to undertake remediation and recover any associated costs from those responsible.

Submit the report by email to p3help@toronto.ca or mail to the following address:

City of Toronto
Attention: Toronto Water, Environmental Monitoring and Protection Unit
2126 Kipling Avenue
Toronto, ON M9W 4K5

For more details, see Section 9 of the Sewers By-law.

How the City Will Respond

The City will verify whether a spill has occurred and take appropriate action, which may include:

• setting up booms and other measures to contain the spill in the watercourse
• taking samples to check for compliance with the Sewers By-law
• determining the potential cause of the spill (such as by tracing the spill to its source)
• inspecting the facility or business that had the spill
• requesting a detailed spill report
• notifying and updating the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Spills Action Centre