As rotting algae at Hamilton park 'smells like crap,' city tasked with preventing it next year

Visiting Hamilton's Bayfront Park — which has been overwhelmed recently by the stink of rotting algae — Jackson Whalen had his sweater wrapped around his face to block out the smell.

"It's not a good impression," said Jackson, 14, who was visiting Hamilton from Woodstock, Ont., with his dad Paul, who both said they were surprised by the stench.

"It smells like a porta-potty," said Paul, one of only a handful of people in the normally busy park. 

Blue-green algae – a toxic bacteria that can cause severe skin irritations, vomiting and diarrhea – bloomed in the Hamilton Harbour in July, earlier than usual, due to a combination of heavy rain and hot days early in the summer, the city says. It's since taken over much of the shallower areas of the waterfront. 

Now, more than a month later, the multi-coloured algae is rotting.

The stench is so strong it was detected up to 500 metres away from the water on Friday and in various parts of the north end neighbourhood, according to a smell check by CBC Hamilton. 

"It's foul," said Yousef Masri, 18, who went to Bayfront to go fishing on Friday, adding he was disappointed by the "dirty" conditions.

"I wish they'd try to clean up a bit," Masri said of the city. 

Staff to look at measures to prevent algae bloom

The issue has been a hot topic for residents throughout Hamilton, said several city councillors on Friday, acknowledging the central role the waterfront plays in many Hamiltonians' recreation routines.

Ward 2 councillor Cameron Kroetsch, the representative for the residents who live near the Bayfront, was hesitant to quantify the number of calls and emails his office has received on the issue, but said it was definitely more than most other issues his office has dealt with.

"People are saying, 'look, it smells like crap down at the waterfront and I want to know why,'" he said at Friday's council meeting.

The issue came up thanks to a last-minute motion from Coun. Maureen Wilson (Ward 1), asking city staff to prepare a report on the current algae bloom and offer measures that could help prevent such outbreaks in future years. The motion passed unanimously.

Wilson pointed out that waterfront redevelopment has been a council priority for decades, asking general manager of finance and corporate services Mike Zegarac to tally how much has been spent on waterfront rejuvenation so far.

He confirmed to councillors that $150 million was spent on waterfront rejuvenation prior to 2024, and that this year's budget earmarked an additional $50 million to be spent between now and 2032.

"We're undermining our own strategic investments," Wilson said.

She said the continuing algae blooms could set the now-desirable area back to the days when it was a "toxic dumping ground."

'Inability to enjoy that space as it's intended'

Nick Winters, director of Hamilton Water, said the algae has thrived this year after wet weather washed nutrients from throughout the watershed, such as fertilizers, into the bay. Combined with the hot, sunny weather, it gave the toxic algae just what it needed to thrive and reproduce.

"It is the worst algae season in my experience in Hamilton Harbour," said Winters. "It's not lost on me. I saw all the areas that were impacted and… share the concerns of our community of the inability to enjoy that space as it's intended to be enjoyed."

Cari Vanderperk, the city's director of watershed management, said that there's not much the city can do to deal with the algae once it takes hold, noting that disturbing it releases its toxins and causes it to reproduce. She recalled city efforts to essentially vacuum up the algae in 2018 and 2021. 

It returned within 72 hours, she said. 

The aerosolized toxins caused by such activity can be a hazard for workers, and such vacuuming can disturb wildlife such as turtle nests.

"Those incidents taught us a few things and hopefully made us a bit wiser," Vanderperk said. 

There are limited disposal options as throwing a mass of algae in the sewer could potentially contaminate parts of the water system, she added.

Climate change at play

Wilson said the situation should serve as a "red flag" about the combined efforts of climate change and development policy.

"The nutrient loadings coming into this water body… are a direct consequence of sprawl," she said.

Building over watersheds and headwaters leads to more runoff ending up in the bay, Wilson said.

"Climate change may not be at the forefront of residents when we go to their door and say, 'How's it going? What's important to you?' But this is."

Kroetsch said that in addition to many concerns from people with houses near the waterfront, his staff has also been in contact with some of the unhoused people currently living in tents at Bayfront Park.

Those individuals have limited options to escape the smell, he said.

He said he hasn't heard of many packing up and leaving the area yet because there are only so many places to camp that are in compliance with the city's encampment protocol.

Back at Bayfront, Fred Fischer – who was fishing with his grandson – said he has lived in Hamilton for about 60 years and the smell has never been this bad, likening it to a sewer.

"I'm not sure city officials know it's a bit of a mess here," he said.