Jorge Maria
Pontiac July 21, 2021
Beaches along the Ontario side of the Ottawa River near Petawawa are closed until further notice after the discovery of an unexploded ordnance (UXO) near the garrison.
On June 24, a community member out for an afternoon stroll found the UXO and notified authorities immediately.
In an interview with The Equity, Senior Public Relations Officer Captain Steven Stecora said that after the discovery, “proper teams were brought in to secure the area, and the UXO was blown in place at that time.”
According to a July 15 press release, the Department of National Defence “advised that all shoreline beaches along the Ottawa River, including Wegner Point, Antler Point, Gust Point and Kiska Beach on the operational side of Garrison Petawawa are currently prohibited for public use.”
2019 floods and recent low water levels have raised concerns for public safety. Extreme weather events can churn river beds exposing long-buried debris.
Starting from the base’s founding in 1905 until at least the end of the Second World War, nearby Green Island had been used for artillery target practice. However, sometimes rounds would fall short, falling into the river.
In 2001, a multi-year survey and remediation program began to clear the area of UXOs that had accumulated around the river.
By 2007, several beaches in the area were opened to the public after the successful completion of the project. Given the limitations of UXO detection technology and the constant shifting of water and river beds, clearing an area of of UXOs cannot be done with 100 per cent certainty. There is always a possibility of formerly undetectable UXOs coming to the surface.
As a precaution beaches were closed.
