City crews are removing dozens of tires dumped on bank at Etobicoke Creek. Photo by Giancarlo De Santis CityTV.
City crews are busy removing dozens of old tires dumped on the bank of the Etobicoke Creek.
It is believed the tires were left under a bridge at the Royal Woodbine Golf Course near Skyway Avenue in the last two months.
A spokesperson with the City of Toronto told CityNews that hundreds of tires were illegally disposed of at the Mimico Creek site, and crews are working to remove them.
“Due to the volume of tires, this work will take several days. The tires will be stored by the city until they can be recycled,” Laura McQuillan told the station.
Plastics, garbage and other material picked up from Etobicoke Creek.
Anyone found dumping garbage or littering under the city’s by-law can face a $500 fine.
A large industrial fire last August at a plant in Rexdale led to a chemical spill into the Etobicoke, Mimico Creeks and Humber killing wildlife and fish. The cleanup lasted several months.
The Etobicoke Creek is already plagued with poor water quality and aquatic life, according to a recent study by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
The study said the creek is heavily polluted due to water runoff from industrial activity near the watershed, including chemicals from Pearson Airport.
Water and aquatic life in the Etobicoke Creek is poor, according to a report.
It said the Etobicoke Creek Watershed has ‘a low amount of natural cover and the habitat rate is generally poor.’
The report stated the Etobicoke Creek watershed is heavily urbanized with about 60 per cent of urban use; has very low amounts or about 12 per cent of natural cover and about 28 per cent of the area for rural land uses.
The plan warns that the watershed suffers from medium to high erosion sensitivity and has six flood prone areas including Long Branch, at the mouth of Etobicoke Creek north of Lakeshore Road, and West Mall in the vicinity of Dundas Street East surrounding Etobicoke Creek.
The City and other jurisdictions are working on a plan to help reduce flooding, improve conditions for biodiversity, and increase resiliency to the impacts of climate change across the watershed.