The Capital Regional District plans to skip secondary treatment during three weeks of maintenance at the Esquimalt sewage treatment plant this spring.
The CRD is seeking regulatory permission for a 21-day sewage bypass of secondary treatment while completing system maintenance on the McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The federal government requires cities to provide secondary sewage treatment. The CRD treatment plant opened in late 2020 to provide tertiary treatment for wastewater from the core area municipalities of Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, View Royal, Langford and Colwood, and the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.
Secondary treatment involves the removal of biodegradable organic matter and suspended solids through the processes of aeration and filtration. Tertiary treatment includes removing specific substances of concern 鈥� such as solids, nutrients or contaminants 鈥� after secondary treatment using a number of physical, chemical or biological processes.
The McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant can treat 108 megalitres (23.8 million imperial gallons) of wastewater per day to a tertiary level 鈥� one of the highest levels of treatment available.
The federal government allows for authorized temporary bypass 鈥� where a facility can exceed the standards of the regulations 鈥� for maintenance and construction.
The bypass, expected to be up to 21 continuous days in March and April, will result in effluent with only primary treatment to be sent into the Salish Sea. The CRD will notify the public online.
