Evaluating inputs of heavy metal contaminants and phosphorus to lake ontario from Hamilton Harbour

The presence and the extent of the plume of Hamilton Harbour water extending into Lake Ontario was determined in order to assess the importance of metal contaminant transport from Hamilton Harbour into Lake Ontario. Industrially derived Fe compounds, wustite and hematite, were used as plume tracking parameters. Wustite, particularly, proved to be a good tracer of the plume. Annual loadings of particulate heavy metals to Lake Ontario were calculated using the concentrations of heavy metals in suspended solids from the connecting Burlington Canal, Hamilton Harbour and western Lake Ontario. Annual loadings of heavy metals to lake Ontario are ～266 × 10³ kg Fe, 9.33 × 10³ kg Zn, 1356 kg Pb, 273 kg Cu, 8.7 kg Cd. The relative contribution of the total metal load from Hamilton Harbour to Lake Ontario is negligible when compared to the load from the Niagara River. Lake-harbour water exchange and the high Fe concentrations in benthic sediments of Hamilton Harbour increase P retention in the harbour sediments, thus are beneficial to water quality in Hamilton Harbour.