Katz, Chomiak concerned about delay in notification of sewage problem

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This article was published 03/11/2011 (5090 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz said Winnipeggers should have been informed far more quickly about the problems with the bioreactors at the South End Water Pollution Control Centre.

Since Oct. 7, the South End treatment plant, which is responsible for processing about 25 per cent of Winnipeg’s sewage, has been discharging 50 million to 60 million litres half-treated waste into the Red River every day, due to a malfunction in the biological-treatment component of the plant. The beneficial micro-organisms that digest organic waste have died off.

The source of the die-off has yet to be identified. In the interim, the plant is in violation of its provincial environmental license, due to higher-than-allowed discharges of suspended particles of organic waste, materials that consume oxygen in the Red River and fecal coliform bacteria. As a result, the Red River’s coliform counts are above the recommended level for swimming but river water does not otherwise pose a health risk.

While water and waste officials continue to attempt to figure out how to reinvigorate the beneficial bacteria and other organisms in the plant’s bioreactors, Mayor Katz criticized them for waiting until Nov. 2 to disclose the issue to senior city staff and politicians.

“I think we should have been informed sooner. To be very frank with you, the mayor and council should have been aware right at the beginning of the process that there is a problem and then we could move from there. The department obviously was trying to resolve the issue,” Katz told reporters this morning outside his office at city hall.

 “Frankly speaking, we were in a capital-budget meeting yesterday, (when) the CAO and the COO were made aware of it,” Katz said. “(They) informed us and the media and the public were informed right away.

 “Do I believe that we should have known sooner? Yes. Do I believe the public should have known sooner? Absolutely.”

Katz said chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl has asked water and waste officials to ensure all future problems are disclosed more quickly.

Meanwhile, Manitoba’s Conservation Minister Dave Chomiak said today the province only found out about the city discharging half-treated sewage into the Red River on Nov. 1 when it should have been notified within 12 hours of the problem being discovered Oct. 7.

“The fact that the department was not notified is an issue for us,” Chomiak told reporters today.

The province is now working with city to fix the problem and in the following weeks could eye tighter regulation of water treatment plants throughout the province to avoid a similar occurrence.

“This should not happen,” he said. “It’s very clear (all of the city’s three treatment) plants have to be upgraded and functioning effectively as soon as possible.”

Chomiak said the first priority is fixing the problem at the South End Water Pollution Control Centre.

“We as a province are going to do a review of the whole situation,” he said. “The bottom line is Manitobans want their water protected.”

The city now faces possible sanctions under the Environment Act for the discharge.

What’s unclear is whether the city can also be fined for not notifying the province within 12 hours of the problem being detected.

“The main issue for right now is solving the problem and preventing further discharge,” Chomiak said. “After that we’re going to have to deal with some of the issues obviously of notification and licensing. We’re going to have deal with that and make sure that proper procedures are followed.”