Spring storm causes waste spill in Ontario lake, Quebec under freezing rain warning

Due to heavy rain, residents of an Ontario town are being asked not to shower or flush the toilet for the time being. Collingwood, which is located near Georgian Bay, issued a notice Thursday morning that the rainfall it experienced this week has caused a full treatment bypass at its wastewater treatment plant.
Bypasses occur when the volume of rainwater and sewage reaching a plant may be more than can be treated and processed in a short period of time.
In order to safeguard the plant, some wastewater may be diverted around the biological process. The bypassed wastewater still goes through treatment to ensure it meets strict federal and provincial regulations.
In its notice, the town said it began a partial bypass at 10:40 p.m. Wednesday, but at 2 a.m. Thursday, overflows were reported at its headworks and pumping station.“ Monitoring, testing and reporting are being completed as required. The Town will provide further details on the bypass when the event is over,” the town said.Premier Doug Ford said Thursday he will be visiting some areas impacted by prolonged power outages since the ice storm that hit central and northern Ontario over the weekend.
Hydro One says more than 195,000 homes and businesses are still in the dark; Ford said power has been restored for more than 800,000 customers across the province, and there are 3,700 crew members working to get power back up for the remaining customers.
Ford added the governments of Quebec and Saskatchewan sent hydro crews to help Ontario restore power in the impacted areas.
Hydro One has said the storm is the most severe weather event the utility has faced since the ice storm of 1998.
The storm covered roads and other surfaces with ice, causing hazardous driving conditions and severe damage to trees.
Wednesday brought torrential rain to a lot of Ontario, and a lot of Quebec is under a freezing rain warning, with the possibility of two to four millimeters of ice on Thursday. A snowfall warning is in effect further to the east, in the Baie-Comeau region, with up to 20 centimeters of snow expected. Outages in Quebec have not yet become a major issue, with Hydro-Quebec reporting less than 300 customers without power this morning.