Former employee “blows whistle” on wastewater practices

Former city of Hamilton water and wastewater director has accused the city’s wastewater department officials of “misleading” councillors and the public about the high cost of expanding the wastewater treatment plant at Woodward Avenue, of allowing financial irregularities within the department, and of knowingly allowing residents in Flamborough to be exposed to lead in their drinking water.

In a long e-mail message sent to Mayor Fred Eisenberger and council in the early morning hour of Dec. 9, and copied to Hamilton’s media, Abdul Khan, the former director of water and wastewater for the city, who was hired in 2005, stated senior city wastewater management has used “scaremongering tactics” including using “completely false” information to show that the Woodward WWTP was overcapacity and in need of expansion. He stated that “crucial” information concerning the 2009 and 2010 rate budgets were “withheld” from the public and not reflected in the budget.