The city’s operations committee approved a recommendation of the operations manager, Doug Sitland, that formal discussions begin with Whitewater Region to pursue the establishment of a storage facility for biosolids in the Whitewater Industrial Park on the Greenwood Road east of the city.
Biosolids are a byproduct of wastewater treatment.
During warm weather months, the product is applied to land on farmers’ fields as fertilizer.
“There are 240 days a year, from October to April, when the city is not permitted to land apply biosolids and must have a facility to properly store the products,” said Mr. Sitland. “Currently, biosolids go to the Ottawa Valley Waste Recovery Centre to be landfilled at a cost between $216,000 and $288,000 for this time period.”
The Nutrient Management Act requires municipalities to have an approved plan in place for the management of biosolids by Jan. 1, 2007.
“While the city will not be in full compliance with this deadline, the majority of municipalities are in similar circumstances,” said Mr. Sitland.
Other communities in the area, including Whitewater Region, which has a sewage treatment plant in the former village of Cobden, haul the material to Ottawa for disposal.
“The costs for this service are increasing and there is concern that the Ministry of the Environment may prohibit this practice in the future,” said Mr. Sitland.
The biosolid storage facility would make it economically viable for Whitewater to deal with its own biosolid problem and be the solution to a major headache for the city.
However, Whitewater and other rural municipalities in the county have a headache for which the city may have the cure.
These municipalities need a place to dispose of their septage, which is the material pumped from septic tanks used by residents who do not have access to sewer services.
Mr. Sitland has recommended that the city proceed with the construction and operation of a septage receiving facility.
“The Pembroke sewage treatment plant has been designed with the necessary hydraulic and organic capacity to accept septage from the entire Renfrew County, provided the septage undergoes the necessary pre-treatment before being introduced into the system,” he said.
He is suggesting that the collection facility would be located in Pembroke’s industrial park in the south end of the city.
“This would be convenient, because trucks wouldn’t have to travel through the city,” he said.
“If it were added to the sewer, it would be diluted considerably by the time it makes its way to the plant. Septage is stronger than regular sewage, so you have to consider where you put it in so you don’t overload the system.”
Although the city doesn’t produce any septage and so wouldn’t need a septage receiving station, Mr. Sitland outlined several reasons to proceed.
“A solution needs to be found to protect the environment from potential pollution and meet the new Nutrient Management Act,” he said.
“This would assist neighbouring townships by eliminating septage disposal concerns and assist neighbouring sewage plants dispose of their waste.”
The anticipated cost of the facility would range from between $600,000 and $800,000.
“If the city charges $100 for 4,000 litres, and assuming the debt load was assumed by the city in its entirety, the payback would be between four and five years,” he said.
“The province is spurring this on,” said Coun. Gary Severin. “I’m wondering if down the road there might be some funding from the province.”
He noted that more than half and perhaps two-thirds of the homes in Renfrew County are on septic tanks.
Approximately 16 per cent of septic systems are pumped in any given year.
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