Montreal's sewage dump ends three days ahead of schedule
theweathernetwork.com
Sunday, November 15, 2015, 2:43 PM - Repairs to the sewage interceptor in Montreal, which allowed billions of sewage to be dumped directly into the St. Lawrence river, is complete three days ahead of schedule, the city announced Saturday.
The controversial sewage dump project started after midnight Wednesday and was expected to last one week. It was concluded after 89 hours of work. The amount was downgraded from an estimated 8 billion litres of waste to 4.9 billion, the city reported.
Montreal's mayor Denis Coderre made the announcment on Twitter Saturday afternoon.
DERNIÈRE HEURE: Remise en service de l’intercepteur Sud-Est trois jours en avance sur l’échéancier. Bravo à Richard Fontaine et toute équipe
— DenisCoderre (@DenisCoderre) November 14, 2015
Residents are asked to avoid contacting the water directly until further notice.
Crews are expected to start work on a snow dump site which is linked to the repaired interceptor. The city says raw sewage will continue to be dumped into the St. Lawrence for 10 days, but from only one pipe. The waste will be dumped at a rate of 0.8 cubic metres per second, for seven hours a day while crews continue to work.
"It's a question of work health and safety. We can't work with wastewater pouring on our heads," city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said.
Montreal first proposed the raw sewage dump earlier this year, before Environment Canada ordered a halt to the plan, pending a review by an independent panel.
Newly appointed Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said Montreal could make the dump provided it would meet several conditions.
On Thursday, Montreal Mayor Coderre inspected the city's sewer system in an effort to monitor the project's progress.
Although the controversial dump was approved by the government, McKenna told reporters the dump comes with risks.
"The risks associated with an unplanned discharge are significant," she told CTV. "Really, it’s balancing risk. It’s less than ideal. I’m not thrilled to be in this situation."
McKenna said a controlled dump was better than an accidental one, which could be possible given the advanced age of the city's sewage system.
#GoC requires changes to #Montreal's proposed discharge of untreated wastewater. https://t.co/UpR1lf2uMu
— GC Newsroom (@NewsroomGC) November 9, 2015
Montreal required the dump as part of construction work on a major road, which meant shutting down a major sewer route for maintenance, and eventual linkage to the snow dump site, according to the CBC.
The sewage was allowed to be released until December 5, a time frame which experts say mitigates the risk to fish.
On Monday, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said the city would meet the conditions.
It has been six years since the city last dumped raw sewage into the river, and Montreal is not the first Canadian city to deliberately place untreated sewage into oceans, lakes and rivers.
Victoria, B.C. discharges millions of litres of raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and since 2004, Winnipeg's outdated sewer system has led to 185 million litres of raw sewage being dumped into the city's waterways. In 2014 Halifax also allowed untreated sewage to flow freely into Halifax Harbour, years after Halifax's sewage treatment was finished.
SOURCES: Environment Canada | CBC News | CTV News
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