The people overseeing plans for sewage treatment on the west side of the Capital Region arenB次元官网网址檛 interested in reinventing the wheel, according to Colwood Mayor Carol Hamilton.
The co-chair of the Capital Regional DistrictB次元官网网址檚 Westside Solutions select committee said the process of taking a fresh look at how to achieve the government-mandated treatment of the regionB次元官网网址檚 sewage is drawing on experience gained to date tackling the issue.
As well, she said, it takes into account information gleaned by Colwood in its efforts to create a treatment facility to hook the growing municipality into a larger system, create more capacity for its residents and possibly partner with neighbouring jurisdictions such as Langford.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e still doing kind of both,B次元官网网址� Hamilton said of the parallel work by the CRD and her city on the project. B次元官网网址淎nything we do for Colwood is usable in the Westside market as well. WeB次元官网网址檙e not losing any sort of pace in the big scheme of things.B次元官网网址�
That said, the process of finding a site to build on, and deciding on a technology that falls within a budget acceptable to the public, appears to be moving ahead faster than under the previous regime.
Hamilton said a request for technical information by Westside attracted 11 or 12 submissions. As well, the CRD is undertaking a B次元官网网址渕arket soundingB次元官网网址� for technology similar to what Colwood already did, and staff from all affected municipalities are working simultaneously to make sure the committee has everything it needs to move quickly on the issue.
B次元官网网址淭he Eastside (Saanich, Oak Bay, Victoria) is doubling up on their meetings (and) naming their advisory committee. The hope is we will come together in about June and be identifying B次元官网网址� what are the technologies out there and what sort of space would they have to take up B次元官网网址� The next thing (after that) is, where do we have sites?B次元官网网址�
Meanwhile, the results of an online survey gauging residentsB次元官网网址� views on the focus and function of any new treatment system were released last week. The Westside Solutions select committee expects the survey results to help guide direction for sewage treatment in the area. Also part of the conversation will be verbal comments received at six open houses held this year in municipalities and First Nations that are part of the Westside plan.
Leading the priority list among three possible responses was B次元官网网址渕eet environmental standards,B次元官网网址� which received more than 45 per cent of the first-place votes among survey respondents. Keeping the costs to taxpayers low was next highest, followed by building in the potential for resource recovery.
Hamilton, after thanking the 345 residents for taking part in the survey, said she wasnB次元官网网址檛 really surprised with the results, noting that unlike the first go-round with the sewage treatment process, the public is getting B次元官网网址渁 lot wiser around environmental issues.B次元官网网址� As well, she added, cost has always been a concern.
B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 going to be the interesting thing overall is what does that mean when it gets down to technologies,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲here are we for the next step?B次元官网网址�
In a question asking what features of a treatment facility were most important, B次元官网网址渘o odourB次元官网网址� topped the list of responses, followed closely by B次元官网网址渕inimize cost to taxpayersB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渞emoval of harmful materials.B次元官网网址� Three different options for recycling the treated effluent, liquids and solids, were next on the list.
The full results are available online at .
Enlisting the publicB次元官网网址檚 help in moving forward on sewage treatment is an important aspect of the whole process, Hamilton said. She encouraged people to check out the survey results and the comments and draw their own conclusions as to what they feel is the best way forward.
Westside Solutions plans to further engage interested members of the public, via a series of roundtables and public information sessions over the coming weeks. Once determined, the schedule will be available at .
