All options being considered in a major city action plan to reduce the environmental impact of sewage spills and overflows into the Ottawa River involve breaking ground in Centretown, according to city officials.
The Ottawa River Action Plan was introduced late last month, followed by four public consultation events. The plan offers three options to cut down on the pollution of the river.
“There are three options being contemplated, and all three of them in some shape or form would affect Centretown,” says Sally McIntyre, program manager of environmental programs with the City of Ottawa.
The crux of the issue is the reduction of combined sewer overflows into the Ottawa River. These occur with older sewer systems, where sewage and rainwater are collected in the same pipe and travel together until the sewage is caught by an interceptor and redirected for treatment. With heavy rainfall, the system cannot accommodate the extra combined water and sewage and ultimately spills into the Ottawa River.
The first option would reduce overflows at the basic level required by provincial regulations by building wastewater storage tanks underground. The city touts it as the “most affordable and least disruptive option,” but Ottawa Riverkeeper, a local environmental group, is pushing the city to move beyond this basic solution.
“There’s no room to grow in option A, and with increased urbanization and more intense rainfall ahead, we will likely continue to see many combined sewer overflow events each year that send significant volumes of untreated sewage into the Ottawa River,” Executive Director Meredith Brown states on the organization’s website.
Another option includes the construction of an underground storage tunnel, as well as larger underground storage tanks in the downtown core. According to Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes, it is that option that’s getting the most positive attention.
“It’s boring a deep tunnel, so apart from the access points, where they come up to the surface for access, I don’t think there’s going to be that much disruption,” says Holmes. “Certainly not like digging up every road to separate the sewers.”
That disruption would become a reality under the third option, where combined sewer pipes would be separated, requiring extensive road construction extending into residents’ homes to connect to the new pipes.
“It entails opening up the front of properties, and installing a second pipe from the home to the street,” says McIntyre.
Brown says this option would fix sewer overflows and spills permanently, although judging by the estimated timeframe of 50 years and the gaps in the information available, the city is not taking the third option seriously.
“There may be a time in the near future when municipalities are legislated to separate all sewers. If this is the case, the city will be left kicking themselves for not doing it right the first time,” says Brown. “We should be provided with the opportunity to seriously consider that option now.”
McIntyre says that the public consultations have shown equal support to all three options. Some Ottawa residents are wary of the estimated cost, while others want the problem fixed for good.
Brown says the city is on the right track. “Any plan is better than no plan.”