Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change says it now knows who’s responsible for an oil spill in the Grand River on Kitchener’s eastern edge.

The ministry has received a call from a towing company based on Forwell Road claiming responsibility for the spill, a ministry spokesperson told CTV Kitchener on Thursday.

According to the spokesperson, the company indicated that used motor oil had spilled from an 800-litre storage tank on its property.

All of the spilled oil – believed to be about half of the tank’s contents – went into drains connected to the sewer system, and in turn into the river, the spokesperson said.



Spilled oil is seen along the shore of the Grand River in Kitchener on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Nadia Matos / CTV Kitchener)

The spill was discovered last Friday, but is believed to have occurred a few days before that.

Code Yellow Towing has a property on Forwell Road. A spokesperson for that company confirmed that Code Yellow was under investigation by the province, but would not provide further details.

The ministry’s investigations and enforcement branch has yet to take any action against the company, but continues to probe the circumstances around the spill.



A sign notifies of a trail closure in the Centennial Road area of Kitchener on Thursday, May 5, 2016. (Nicole Lampa / CTV Kitchener)

Meanwhile, local officials continue their efforts to contain and clean up the oil.

Crews were back at it Tuesday, closing a section of trail off of Centennial Road to keep the public away.