Fear of rail accidents near Ramsey Lake prompts new spill policies

New measures are being put inplace to protect Ramsey Lake from contamination in case a train accident spills hazardous material into the water.

Trains frequently travel on the edge of Ramsey Lake, which is one of Sudburys main drinking water sources. The lake supplies water to more than 40,000 people.

Sudbury's Drinking Water Source Protection Committee has drafted policies to map areas that are particularly vulnerable to spills. The hope is toprioritizeclean-up efforts in case of an emergency.

According to a spokesperson for CPRail, the goods that that travel by train through Sudburyinclude:

• Fertilizer and other chemicals
• Grain
• Forest Products
• Food and consumer goods
• Automotive products and supplies
• Mining products and supplies

Nels Conroy, chair of the committee, said there are already protocols in place to provide drinking water from elsewhere in the event of a spill.

But Conroy said the damage from a railroad spill could go far beyond the tap.

"Swimming might be prohibited, boating might be prohibited, fishing might be prohibited. . . The scope is unlimited to what the uses are of Ramsey Lake, he said.

Charles Ramcharan, a professor at Laurentian Universitys School of the Environment and Living with Lakes Centre, said more should be done to protect Ramsey Lake. He said railway tracks should being moved out of the city altogether.

"Rail accidents are not infrequent, and it's only a matter of time before we get something like this happening in Ramsey Lake, Ramcharan said.

He also said he'snot just worried aboutfuels and obvious toxins getting into the waterbut any possible contaminantsthat could have long term effects on the environment.

If you have a load of oats or wheat or something, that's a major organic input into this ecosystem, he said.

That's going to be really difficult to clean out. It's got to be dredged from the lake for removal, and then what's left there is going to decompose. So no matter what you throw into the system, it's going to be a problem.

According to a handout from Sudbury's Drinking Water Source Protection Committee, both "Greater Sudbury and the municipality of Markstay-Warrenwill update their Emergency ManagementPlans to include mapping out the vulnerable areas and plans for spills response near municipal wells and surface water intakes".

The committee's policies are expected to be implemented in April 2016.