Improper connection at industrial property causes massive sewage dump

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/11/2018 (2650 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An industrial property in Fort Garry dumped a massive quantity of untreated sewage into the river system due to an improper sewer connection, but the city can’t say how long it went on.

It’s estimated 640,000 litres of untreated sewage was discharged into the Red River every day that the improper connection was in place.

The city discovered the problem March 26. An anonymous source who tipped off the Free Press to the situation said the improper connection was in place for years.

“The sewer connection is decades old,” the source said.

“There has been decades of sewage from this industrial property flowing to land drainage and discharging into the river. The city covered themselves in the online report by stating the duration was ‘unknown.’ ”

While the Free Press cannot independently verify that information, everything else the source said was confirmed by a City of Winnipeg spokesman.

The industrial property in question is MDI Holdings Corp., which is located at 70 Irene St. The company officially opened an 80,000-square-feet dairy plant at the site on Oct. 25, 2017, but the improper sewer connection predates its time at the facility.

In March, a contractor, who was performing a video inspection of the land drainage sewer, noticed a “solid-like substance.” It was determined a private wastewater sewer was improperly connected to the sewer. The information is contained on the city’s website page that tracks reports on untreated sewage.

Within hours, the city determined that MDI Holdings was the culprit and the connection was shut down.

“The city acted as soon as it was made aware of the possibility of a private wastewater sewer service being incorrectly connected to the land drainage sewer. Staff immediately investigated and, within a matter of hours, asked MDI Holdings… to shut down operations,” a city spokesman said in a written statement.

“MDI complied with the shutdown order and subsequently arranged for a proper wastewater connection.”

Manitoba Sustainable Development was notified about the situation. It remains unclear who established the improper connection.

The land drainage system is the series of pipes that carries rainfall and snow melt runoff from urban areas to the river system.

“It is not clear how long the previous occupant at 70 Irene St. discharged sewage to the land drainage system or how much sewage was discharged,” the city spokesman wrote.

“Until this incorrect connection to the land drainage sewer came to the city’s attention in March 2018, there was no reason for the city to believe that sewage from this site was entering the land drainage system.”

MDI Holdings did not agree to an interview request. In a short written statement sent to the Free Press, the company stressed the improper connection was not its fault.

“The connection was made by a prior owner or operator of the plant and was not discovered by MDI Holdings until it was notified by the City of Winnipeg,” the statement reads.

When it opened, the company said it boosted dairy processing capacity in the province by about 40 per cent and eliminated the need for farmers to haul excess milk out of the province to be processed. The facility produces milk proteins, buttermilk powders and butter. It has the capacity to process 180 million litres of milk per year and employs about 70 workers.

MDI spent $100 million to convert a former egg-processing facility into a modern plant. It’s a joint venture between B.C.-based Vitalus Nutrition and Ontario-based Gay Lea Foods Co-op.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca