A Sechelt-hosted open house next week will provide information and seek public input into key local sewage management decisions.
"Our whole system is running out of space," said Sechelt Coun. Fred Taylor, the chair of the Sechelt sewage facilities commission newly-formed biosolids handling sub-committee.
Sechelt's sewage system includes the Ebbtide and Dusty Road treatment plants. After treatment, effluent is pumped into the Strait of Georgia, and the District contracts Sylvis to haul biosolids from Dusty Road to the LeHigh Materials Sechelt mine where the product is used for reclamation.
Taylor said key problems in Sechelt's sewage system are: a need for upgrades at Ebbtide; Dusty Road operating far under capacity due to having to process dense septage trucked in from outlying Sechelt areas and the Sunshine Coast Regional District; an eventual need for more outflow capacity into the Strait; a risk of pipe breakage caused by pumping sewage uphill from Ebbtide to Dusty Road under high pressure; the risk of losing the Dusty Road location due to its being on leased land; and having Sylvis in a monopoly position as the only end user for Sechelt's biosolids.
While the District will eventually need a multi-million dollar new sewage treatment plant, Taylor said it's currently buying five or 10 years of time by planning a biosolids facility to increase the system's capacity. The District has purchased a lower Dusty Road site for both the biosolids facility and the eventual treatment plant.
The open house and public information meeting will take place Monday, Oct. 25, at the Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre, with the open house starting at 5 p.m. and a presentation at 7. It will consider information released by consultant Urban Sys-tems in its final biosolids management plan, available at www.sechelt.ca.
While the report deals with complex technical processes and options, Taylor said a key "big picture" question for Sechelt will be: whether to continue producing a B-quality biosolids product, which is currently accepted only by Sylvis, or whether to invest in the equipment and higher operating costs to produce a cleaner A-quality product that would have a larger variety of uses and end users.
Besides providing the community with a better grounding on the issues at stake, Taylor said the Oct. 25 meeting will allow community members to contribute ideas and expertise and talk to Urban Systems representatives.
"If people have their own pet solutions, as well, that they've adapted from the Internet or from other things they've seen, they'll be able to challenge the consultants and get some clarity over why those weren't considered or if they should be considered," he said.
Taylor said Urban Systems will use public, council and commission input to put together a pre-design package for the biosolids facility, which can then go out to tender.
