Officials know septic systems are adding to water woes in Sorrento and Blind Bay, but a solution will be complex and costly.
At the January board meeting of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, operations manager Darcy Mooney sought and received approval for $50,000 from the Electoral Area C Community Works Fund to investigate a potential sewer infiltration site in Sorrento.
Liquid waste would be separated from solids at a treatment facility before being infiltrated into the ground, where bacteria in the soils would further treat the liquids.
The 2002 Area C Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP) identified the cumulative impact of septic systems on the environment was a problem in the making, noted Mooney in his report to council.
Continuous monitoring of the groundwater in the area has identified that on-site septic systems have a negative impact on the environment and the foreshore, he added.
An update to the liquid waste management plan conducted in 2008 indicated the need for, and got support for, a sewer system for the two communities.
A community sewer system was proposed for the Balmoral area, with Blind Bay, Reedman Point and Sorrento being phased into the system over time.
The proposed cost of the entire system was identified at $56 million, if the sewer system and waste treatment were developed as a single phase,” said Mooney.
Moving sewage from foreshore septic systems to the facility would cost over $14 million for phase one of a multi-phased approach.
“The plan also indicated we would only be able to move forward (on the project) with large grants of at least two-thirds of the funding,” said Mooney at the January board meeting. “We’ve been waiting for a grant but that just hasn’t come.”
He says in 2008, $15 million seemed to be reasonable, but without a grant, the cost is excessive.
While the original plan was to spray treated effluent onto agricultural land in Balmoral, CSRD has begun to investigate alternatives and is looking at a rapid infiltration system.
“A rapid infiltration site in Balmoral is not available. We spent a considerable amount of time looking at one in Sorrento, but there is a proliferation of downstream domestic water wells,” Mooney said, noting that another site thought to be ideal will require additional investigation because the gravel is intruded by ‘fingers’ of bedrock. “We need to delineate where the bedrock is and how extensive it is, and we also need to know the amount of gravel in terms of being able to determine how much effluent can be deposited there.”
It will take up to $100,000 for CSRD staff to simply confirm the site and figure out how much effluent can be disposed there, noted Mooney.
“Once the work is completed, we will bring it back to the board for the next steps,” he said. “This would include a liquid waste management plan amendment, which would include public input in the process.”
Area C South Shuswap director Paul Demenok offered his full support for the amendment.
“Sewers are a very high-priority project from an environmental perspective as 13 of 17 (CSRD) groundwater monitoring sites exceed (acceptable) e-Coli levels,” he said. “We have thousands of septic systems, some of them up to 50 years old, and we’re seeing it affect water quality in Blind Bay.”
Demenok pointed out there are economic impacts in Sorrento as well.
“They’re handcuffed with the OCP (official community plan) stipulating you must have two acres of land if you’re going to have on-site sewer systems,” he said. “This is a very important area… I support spending additional funds to identify a rapid infiltration site.”
Demenok pointed out time is of the essence as a New Canada Building Fund is expected to be announced in 2015.
“We’ve got to be ready for it and I am asking for board support,” he said.
Demenok got it and Area F North Shuswap director Larry Morgan expressed interest in a similar system.
“We’re handcuffed in Scotch Creek too. We had a study and costs were prohibitive. I think we have to work in a similar direction to get those costs to something more affordable.”