Seaway officials will dig into a buried canal remnant in Thorold, after local explorers stumbled across a smelly yellow substance now identified as sulphur.

Rene Ressler, a heritage buff who runs the Welland Canals Advocate website, found a wide expanse of “sulphur smelling” material atop what he believes to be the filled-in southern approach to Lock 25 of the third Welland Canal earlier this year.

The overgrown area between the current Welland Canal and Beaverdams Rd. is owned by the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., but is crisscrossed with informal trails popular with cyclists and hikers.

Ressler theorized the old canal approach could be a former industrial dumping ground.

Seaway environmental staff tested soil in the area and found “sulphur and carbon residue,” said Jean Aubry-Morin, vice-president of corporate sustainability.

That was enough to prompt officials to plan an inquiry into how much sulphur or other contaminants are buried in the area, said Aubry-Morin, although additional testing likely won’t begin until the spring.

Historical dumping into Niagara’s many abandoned canals was common decades ago. But Aubry-Morin cautioned officials “just don’t know” if the sulphur was dumped at the site or not.

“We don’t know the volume of material, or the source,” he said. “We will do an assessment … and determine the appropriate actions going forward.”

Ressler hopes the Seaway will excavate the buried lock approach.

“Number one, you’re probably helping the environment,” he said. “Opening up part of our heritage would be a great bonus.”

So far, Aubry-Morin said, officials don’t think any contaminants are migrating into the nearby water.

“We don’t think there is an environmental worry at this point,” he said.

The Seaway is a bit worried about public safety, however.

Aubry-Morin acknowledged old canal lands are popular destinations for history buffs, hikers and explorers.

A trail connecting cyclists to the Greater Niagara Circle Route is just a short walk away from the buried lock approach.

But so are aging canal walls and a steep drop into the water, he said. “Certain parts of this aging infrastructure … may be a safety concern.

“This part of the canal is not supposed to be open to the public, so we would appreciate it if members of the public could show restraint and not access that area.”

via Seaway to investigate sulphur buried in canal – Niagara Falls Review – Ontario, CA.