City of Windsor investigating slick substance on Little River

Herman Marlovitzwasfeeding the ducks at Little River in Windsor on Thursday, when he noticed there was an oily sheen on the water.

"I don't know where that would be coming from," he said. "It's no good for the for the fish."

The City of Windsor is now working on identifying and containing the substance on the Little River, which city engineer Mark Winterton said reachesfrom Tecumseh Road to the marina.

Winterton told CBC Windsor the city became aware of the substance on Dec. 26, and has put out oil booms in the river to contain it.

"In terms of the environmental impact, we are still assessing that," he said.

Winterton did not refer to the substance as oil or confirm that an oil spill occurred, saying the substance is still not identified.

The Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and the Windsor fire department havesampled the water, Winterton said.

The organizations "both sampled the material to try to isolate what it is and confirm that it is organic, like a gasoline or an oil product."

Winterton referred to the substance as "various organic volatiles", also known as volatile organic compounds(VOC).

Environment and Climate Change Canada's websitesays in urban areas, like Windsor, VOCs can originate from building coatings, car refinishing products,asphalt and other products.

"Now we're in the process of going upstream and trying to isolate and figure out where it would be located," Winterton said.

After that, a vacuum truck will be brought in to clean up the substance, Winterton added. He said the city's investigation will take a few more days to complete.

Avoid contact with spills, report quickly

Derek Coronadowith Citizens Environmental Allianceviewed images of the river and said he thought the spill looked like a petroleum-based product.

"These kind of spills unfortunately happen frequently along the Detroit River on both Canadian and the American side," he said, adding that spillscan damage aquatic ecosystems and hurt the food chain.

He said if you spot substances in natural waterways, "Don't come into contact directly with it. That would be the first and obvious thing. The second thing would beto report it as quickly as possible."

Reports can be made to 311 and to the environment ministry.