POWELL RIVER, B.C.- City council is set to receive the option for Powell River’s new wastewater treatment plant at the next Committee of the Whole meeting.
The Liquid Waste Management Plant (LWMP) has been in the works for the past twenty years, according to the city’s Director of Infrastructure, Tor Birtig.
“At this point, we are doing pre-design and design for not only the treatment plant, but the conveyancing or the piping to that location that has been selected in the Townsite area,” he said.
Birtig noted that council has yet to approve the plant that is to be constructed.
“We have provided them with some information, with three various concepts with respect to process,” he said.
“Near the end of the month, we will be bringing a report forward with a recommendation to go to a process option that has been selected by our consultant.”
The next Committee of the Whole meeting is on Tuesday, January 30th.
“It (the proposed plant) looks like your standard conventional plant that is used throughout the province, and probably across Canada,” he said.
“That option is termed a ‘high-efficiency biological treatment’, also known as an ‘activated sledge option’, so it’s your standard process and takes up a smaller footprint than the other two options, and is staff’s preferred option at this point.”
Birtig noted there have been some concerns about the proposed plant.
These include the size of the building, the site to be used and the proposed routing for the conveyancing.
“Those are all items that we are working through and trying to bring the best option forward.”
Powell River Mayor Dave Formosa said he’s hopeful that the community supports whatever decision is made on the new wastewater treatment plant.
“It’s generally the ones (residents) that live closer to the facility that you hear from, although, you do have citizens throughout the community that are engaged, knowing that this is probably the single largest capital expenditure we will have ever spent.”
Birtig noted that if council does approve of the proposed plant, the next steps include completing the design, so that crews can apply for grant funding.
The project is estimated to cost approximately $30 million.
The facility will be located on two 10-acre lots in the Townsite area, and will consolidate all sewage management from Westview, Townsite, Wildwood and the Tla’amin Nation.
