Work continued Friday to clean up the second oil spill in two weeks in the St. Lawrence River, off the coast of eastern Montreal.
The Quebec Ministry of the Environment has confirmed that the two spills in the Pointe-aux-Trembles neighbourhood involved motor oil that was dumped into the river from a city storm sewer.
Authorities are working with the City of Montreal to determine how these hydrocarbons ended up in the sewers.
The latest spill was discovered Thursday near a marina after heavy rains the night before. The Canadian Coast Guard deployed booms to contain the spill and a vacuum truck to collect contaminated water. It also sent a drone and helicopter to assess the spill from above.
On Thursday afternoon, the Coast Guard transferred responsibility for the cleanup to the provincial government after confirming the contamination came from a land-based source.
At least one injured and oil-covered gull was transported to a wildlife conservation centre on Thursday. Two officials from the provincial environmental emergency service, Urgence-Environnement, were on site Friday.
Floating booms were deployed to contain the spill and a vacuum truck was on site Thursday to collect the contaminated water.
A total of 19,000 litres of water mixed with around 1,000 litres of oil were pumped from the river after a spill was discovered on July 11, but authorities were unable to find the source at the time.
This cleanup was completed on July 19, less than a week before the discovery of the second spill.
A government spokesman said both spills involved motor oil “with the same profile” and work was continuing to find the source of the contamination.
Access to the marina is reserved for boat owners, who will only be able to leave with their boat once it has been cleaned.
The government says no water intakes are at risk from the spills and no drinking water advisories have been issued.