Capital Regional District votes in favour of four sewage plants for $1.2 billion

For Immediate Release
June 2, 2009

Capital Regional District CALWMC Selects
Wastewater Treatment Option

Victoria, BC – The Capital Regional District’s Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee (CALWMC) has selected a refined distributed wastewater management strategy for the Region’s Core Area. Option One, with modifications and additions, was selected as the basis on which to continue further investigations of variations on the strategy, including continued analysis of Options 1a, 1b and 1c.

“I am very pleased that the committee has taken a positive step forward in the decision making process for wastewater treatment in the Core Area,” said CALWMC Chair Judy Brownoff. “Choosing a distributed strategy means that we can now continue our research and planning while using Option 1 as the building block upon which to rest future decisions. It will give the committee more focus and greater ability to make the best choices on innovative treatment for the region’s residents and for the environment.”

The Option 1 strategic direction involves resource recovery on a regional basis and proposes the construction of three treatment plants, in Esquimalt, Saanich East and the West Shore, and one wet weather plant at Clover Point, Victoria. The Option was also recommended by CRD staff and the Peer Review Team, and was developed using a sustainability assessment framework approach. Option 1 is estimated to cost $1.2 billion, but costs could be lowered by phasing in treatment plants over the next 15 years. Innovative resource recovery options, such as heat recovery and water reuse, will be part of the continued investigations by the CRD.

In 2006 the CRD began planning to upgrade its wastewater treatment at the request of the Minister of Environment for British Columbia. The Core Area includes the municipalities of Colwood, Esquimalt, Langford, Oak Bay, Saanich, Victoria and View Royal. On June 30, 2009, the CRD must update the Minister of Environment; on December 31, an amendment to the existing Liquid Waste Management Plan will be finalized. Planning and construction of this wastewater treatment system is expected to take 10 years to complete. The new wastewater treatment plan must take into account population and infrastructure growth up to 2065.

For information on the CRD’s Wastewater Treatment Project please visit: www.wastewatermadeclear.ca

For newspaper coverage, click on this link to the Victoria Times-Colonist,