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UPDATE: Millions of litres of sewage leak into Kootenay River

City management staff call the leak B次元官网网址榥egligibleB次元官网网址
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A sewage leak has been discovered and repaired about 30 metres below the surface of the Kootenay River between Nelson and Grohman Narrows Provincial Park. Map: Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy

NelsonB次元官网网址檚 public works director says the volume of a sewage leak into the Kootenay River on March 27 was B次元官网网址渘egligible.B次元官网网址

In an April 4 news release, Charlie Henderson said the leak occurred in a pipe that transports sewage from the city to the sewage treatment plant at Grohman Narrows. The pipe is located about 30 metres below the surface of the Kootenay River.

About one million litres of sewage per day leaked into the Kootenay River between March 27 and April 3.

B次元官网网址淔or context, the Kootenay River flow in this location is 36 million cubic metres per day,B次元官网网址 Henderson said. B次元官网网址淓ven though the leak was minor, the City of Nelson, along with the co-ordination team, took this event very seriously.B次元官网网址

The incident was reported by B.C.B次元官网网址檚 environment ministry on its website on March 28. The ministry reported in an email on April 4 that the leak was repaired on April 3 by a dive team.

B次元官网网址淕iven the minor scale of the leakage and the rapid response, the team deemed it unnecessary to issue an immediate public advisory,B次元官网网址 said Henderson.

Henderson explained that B次元官网网址渢he displacement of a gasket resulted in an opening not much bigger than the size of a loonie.B次元官网网址

The gasket B次元官网网址渘aturally repositioned itself back into place, stopping the leak even before the divers arrived on site,B次元官网网址 he said.

B次元官网网址淚t is essential to clarify that there was no pipeline failure.B次元官网网址

Mayor Janice Morrison echoed HendersonB次元官网网址檚 praise of dive team and staff in the statement. B次元官网网址淩emarkably, in this scenario, the solution was found in dilution.B次元官网网址

Henderson agreed with the environment ministry on the daily volume of the leak of 1,000 cubic metres, or about one million litres.

As for the duration of the leak, Henderson said it was four days, while an email to the Nelson Star from the environment ministry said the leak was discovered on March 27 and plugged on April 3, a minimum of five days.

B次元官网网址淗ealth authorities expect the potential impact to human health to be low,B次元官网网址 the environment ministryB次元官网网址檚 incident report states. B次元官网网址淧rivate and public water extraction points from the Kootenay River are a significant distance from the point of release.B次元官网网址

The sewage treatment plant is located on the shore of the Kootenay River at Grohman Narrows and releases its effluent into the river after primary and secondary treatment. This weekB次元官网网址檚 leak consisted of untreated sewage that had not yet reached the facility.

The city is in the of a new treatment plant and sewage infrastructure, but the design and construction is expected to take several years.

The aging plant has long been acknowledged by city management staff to be .

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Bill Metcalfe

About the Author: Bill Metcalfe

I have lived in Nelson since 1994 and worked as a reporter at the Nelson Star since 2015.
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