The warm weather this winter and equipment freeze ups have made it very difficult to process effluent at the WWTP.  To date we have only processed a small amount of effluent and the lagoons are at 95.5% full.  According to our processing schedule, the lagoons should be down to 75% by January 18.  At Committee of the Whole on Monday night, we reviewed the activity from the previous 3 years at the WWTP and have serious concerns about the volume of effluent in the lagoons.  One of the major issues is that the flows to the plant have been 2 1/2 times higher in December than in November.  There is little doubt that sump pumps emptying into the system are partly to blame.

With the unpredictability of both the weather and our equipment, we made the decision to haul 10,000 cubic metres from the WWTP to Smiths Falls, beginning tomorrow (Wednesday).  We simply could not risk another weather event like last week’s torrential rains.  We will continue to process effluent at every opportunity.The cost of hauling is grant eligible from the money that we have received for remediation to the lagoons.

I will keep you updated on our progress throughout the winter.  Please contact the Councillor of your choice or me (273-9195) if you have any questions.