Clean up crews were brought in quickly after the university was informed of a dirt slide into the creek on the west side of campus.

Dirt that had been excavated from the construction site at the athletics centre is being stored on the west side of campus until it will be used as backfill at the new building.  It appears the dirt that ended up in the creek was from the excavated reserves and also possibly some runoff from the baseball diamonds.

A person walking near the creek noticed the muddy water and informed the city who notified the university.  The city’s environment officer has been involved and the Ministry of Environment was also notified.

To make sure the mud was not originating from the sewer pipes in the area, an external company was brought in to inspect the pipes and the pumping equipment, which was all in order.  The pumps are equipped with alarms and warning lights to alert maintenance to any problems.

“With the clean up complete, we will be reviewing where the dirt reserve is located to ensure that heavy rains or other factors don’t release any of the dirt into the creek,” said Debbie Martin, AVP and chief facilities officer at McMaster. “We’re grateful that a nearby resident noticed the problem and alerted officials.”