Environmental monitoring to guide and assess the effectiveness of Randle Reef sediment remediation on the recovery of Hamilton Harbour

Abstract

Randle Reef is a 60 hectare portion of the Hamilton Harbour bed, heavily contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals. Remediation of contaminated sediment at Randle Reef is currently underway and is expected to be completed by 2022. In order to measure the effectiveness of the remedial effort on the surrounding ecosystem as well as enable the project's success to be critically evaluated, short and long term site-specific monitoring studies are required. As such, research scientists and sediment remediation specialists have collaborated to develop a site-specific, comprehensive series of environmental monitoring plans. The monitoring plans use several metrics to determine the state of the ecosystem prior to, during and post remediation. Monitoring studies have been designed to measure physical, biological and chemical trends over time. These studies will be used to determine the overall effectiveness of the remediation project and ultimately lead to the eventual delisting of Hamilton Harbour from the list of Great Lakes Areas of Concern. This article is a synopsis of the environmental monitoring studies that have been designed to guide and assess the effectiveness of the Randle Reef Sediment Remediation Project.