Nipigon lagoon cleanup to get rid of 100 years of trash
Lake Superior could be a popular destination for underwater adventurers, Richard Harvey says
The township of Nipigon has commissioned a cleanup of a section of Lake Superior near its downtown.
Mayor Richard Harvey says the target is more than 100 years’ worth of trash that was dumped into a lagoon.
"We know there’s some historical artifacts," he said.
While he and a few other divers took their "first eco-dive" a couple of years ago, they discovered "what appears to be, probably a late-1800s old wagon."
Harvey said single-day dives over the past couple of years have resulted in hundreds of tires being pulled out of the water.
He said he hopes the cleanup will restore walleye habitats that are native to the area.
So far, dive-teams that have gone beneath the water have pulled out a lot of debris in just a short period.
"Last year, Eco-Divers Thunder Bay [worked] with the township of Nipigon [and] pulled 126 tires out in just a few hours ... the year before, [it] was about 105 tires," Harvey said.
Mayor’s conflict of interest in project
The Nipigon-based company 'By The Bay Adventures' was awarded the contract by the municipality to co-ordinate the cleanup project.
He also left the room to avoid even non-verbal influence over the process or what other people say.
"I want to make sure that ... the councillors are making their decision freely and that they don't have to be concerned about my having any knowledge of what's said by anyone in the room," he said.
Harvey called the lagoon "a phenomenal attribute for the town," and there are a lot of opportunities for the water body, once it's been cleaned up.
Once sonar mapping of the littered bottom is done, a plan will be developed. That plan will include historical research on the area — to be done by the elementary school students — on how best to clean it up.
Eco-dives will continue this summer, and Harvey said training for volunteers will also be done to ensure they're fully capable of search and recovery.