Sullied sea to Seaterra: a history of the CRD’s sewage treatment efforts
“The stars are starting to line up.” – former Victoria Mayor and Capital Regional District Chair, Alan Lowe (July 2006)
Nearly 15 years ago the Capital Regional District (CRD) commissioned a $600,000 report by the Florida-based Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) to assess the environmental impact of southern Vancouver Island’s sewage discharge into the Salish Sea. Although lauded by some as a costly stall tactic that produced no tangible results, the findings implied that the daily dumping of 34 million gallons of sewage into the ocean could not continue for time immemorial. SETAC, however, stopped short of stating unequivocally when, or even if, sewage treatment was actually needed. Despite this mixed bag of findings the wheels of sewage treatment had been set in motion.
“The stars are starting to line up.” – former Victoria Mayor and Capital Regional District Chair, Alan Lowe (July 2006)
Nearly 15 years ago the Capital Regional District (CRD) commissioned a $600,000 report by the Florida-based Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) to assess the environmental impact of southern Vancouver Island’s sewage discharge into the Salish Sea. Although lauded by some as a costly stall tactic that produced no tangible results, the findings implied that the daily dumping of 34 million gallons of sewage into the ocean could not continue for time immemorial. SETAC, however, stopped short of stating unequivocally when, or even if, sewage treatment was actually needed. Despite this mixed bag of findings the wheels of sewage treatment had been set in motion.
Clover Point along the shores of the City of Victoria has been the Capital Regional District's sewage outflow source since the late 19th century. Photo © Skyscraper Source Media.
History
Controversial as far back as most Victorians will remember, the Capital Regional District’s practice of discharging raw sewage into the Salish Sea began in 1892 when a brick pipeline was constructed off Clover Point in the City of Victoria’s Fairfield neighbourhood. The outfall, ending just three feet below the low water mark, eventually polluted nearby beaches to the point where residents in the 1940’s began demanding a solution be implemented to address the unsightliness of sewage discharge so close to shore. It was not until the 1970’s that the CRD endorsed a plan to install a pumping station that would propel effluent nearly 7,000 feet into the straight, a plan that was rejected earlier due to complaints by residents that the area’s aesthetic appeal would be spoiled.
In 1978 a pumping station and a 1,000 foot outflow pipe, together with a screener and a grinder to break up solids (solids that had been washing up on both Canadian and American beaches), were built. Despite planning for nearly 7,000 feet of outflow the initial pipe specification could not withstand tidal and wave activity. It was not until 1980 that 3,500 feet of pipe at six times the weight of the original specification was added, although falling short of the originally planned 6,900 feet of outflow. Trunk lines from other outfall points converged at Clover Point, a location then eyed by the CRD as the future site of the region’s sewage treatment plant.
Although Clover Point was the preferred site for a treatment plant, in 1991 the CRD commissioned it’s Engineering Services Manager Seamus McDonnell to determine if Clover Point or an alternate site would be best suited for a plant. McDonnell’s recommendation, published in a report titled Sewage Treatment Options and Locations of Sites, was a partially subterranean facility at Beacon Hill Park similar to the Oceanside plant in San Francisco (situated partially beneath the Zoological Gardens). At Beacon Hill Park, McDonnell opined, a sewage treatment plant could be built partially below the park allowing for landscaping and redevelopment of land into recreational uses in-keeping with deed restrictions requiring that the park lands be maintained for enjoyment of the public.
That same year Dr. Shaun Peck published a report tasked with ascertaining the need for increased sewage treatment. His findings determined that “the ocean floor sediments are organically enriched at the outfall,” and as such increased sewage treatment was not, in fact, a pressing concern. He went on to dismiss American disapproval of the region’s sewage treatment practices and insisted the United States had its own environmental issues to deal with like the Hanford nuclear site in Washington State.
All was quiet on the sewage treatment front until 2003 when a quarter century of complaints relating to odours emanating from the Clover Point pumping station lead to the CRD installing odour control equipment.
Politics
In 1993 Washington State launched a boycott against Victoria’s tourism sector in response to the region’s lack of formal sewage treatment. Washington State lawmakers forced then British Columbia Premier Mike Harcourt to enter into an informal agreement with then Washington State Governor Mike Lowry that Victoria would build primary sewage treatment by 2002 and secondary treatment by 2008. Despite averting further boycotts, major conferences sidestepped the city and the tourism sector as a whole took to heart the wrath of an angry neighbour.
It was not until 2003 that the CRD began pressuring the provincial government to approve its 25 year Core Area Liquid Waste Management Plan, a plan not hinged on a commitment to formal treatment. However, come 2006 former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell met with former Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire to discuss the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. Legend has it that Governor Gregoire took that opportunity to read Premier Campbell the riot act regarding Victoria’s broken promises, informal or not, to build a sewage treatment plant. As a result of this meeting, some theorize, Premier Campbell immediately instructed his Environment Minister Barry Penner to “order” the CRD to make good on those promises. Soon afterwards the media began publishing stories describing imminent sewage treatment plant development with a potential construction start merely a year away. The provincial government announced its commitment to funding one-third of the cost of sewage treatment on the condition that Partnerships BC be able to take a hard look at a public-private-partnership to build and operate the facilities.
Although no shovels had hit the ground within the first year as initially expected, in 2008 an open and transparent sewage treatment public consultation process was announced by Chris Clement who at the time was the CRD Sewage Committee Chair and Mayor of Esquimalt. The plan back then revolved around 32 small resource recovery treatment plants situated throughout the south Island.
Observations
In 2009 the CRD announced that sewage treatment would take place across four treatment sites instead of 32. The plan would now yield facilities at Clover Point in Victoria, a site in Esquimalt, a site in Saanich East, and one on the westshore. Contrary to the open and transparent consultation process discussed only two years prior, the CRD purchased Haro Woods in Saanich East for $6.9 million without any public engagement. The following year the CRD abandoned it’s plan to use the newly acquired Haro Woods property due to strong neighbourhood opposition.
In 2012 two-thirds of the project cost, estimated to be around the $1 billion mark, was formally secured from both the provincial and federal governments.
History
Controversial as far back as most Victorians will remember, the Capital Regional District’s practice of discharging raw sewage into the Salish Sea began in 1892 when a brick pipeline was constructed off Clover Point in the City of Victoria’s Fairfield neighbourhood. The outfall, ending just three feet below the low water mark, eventually polluted nearby beaches to the point where residents in the 1940’s began demanding a solution be implemented to address the unsightliness of sewage discharge so close to shore. It was not until the 1970’s that the CRD endorsed a plan to install a pumping station that would propel effluent nearly 7,000 feet into the straight, a plan that was rejected earlier due to complaints by residents that the area’s aesthetic appeal would be spoiled.
In 1978 a pumping station and a 1,000 foot outflow pipe, together with a screener and a grinder to break up solids (solids that had been washing up on both Canadian and American beaches), were built. Despite planning for nearly 7,000 feet of outflow the initial pipe specification could not withstand tidal and wave activity. It was not until 1980 that 3,500 feet of pipe at six times the weight of the original specification was added, although falling short of the originally planned 6,900 feet of outflow. Trunk lines from other outfall points converged at Clover Point, a location then eyed by the CRD as the future site of the region’s sewage treatment plant.
Although Clover Point was the preferred site for a treatment plant, in 1991 the CRD commissioned it’s Engineering Services Manager Seamus McDonnell to determine if Clover Point or an alternate site would be best suited for a plant. McDonnell’s recommendation, published in a report titled Sewage Treatment Options and Locations of Sites, was a partially subterranean facility at Beacon Hill Park similar to the Oceanside plant in San Francisco (situated partially beneath the Zoological Gardens). At Beacon Hill Park, McDonnell opined, a sewage treatment plant could be built partially below the park allowing for landscaping and redevelopment of land into recreational uses in-keeping with deed restrictions requiring that the park lands be maintained for enjoyment of the public.
That same year Dr. Shaun Peck published a report tasked with ascertaining the need for increased sewage treatment. His findings determined that “the ocean floor sediments are organically enriched at the outfall,” and as such increased sewage treatment was not, in fact, a pressing concern. He went on to dismiss American disapproval of the region’s sewage treatment practices and insisted the United States had its own environmental issues to deal with like the Hanford nuclear site in Washington State.
All was quiet on the sewage treatment front until 2003 when a quarter century of complaints relating to odours emanating from the Clover Point pumping station lead to the CRD installing odour control equipment.
Politics
In 1993 Washington State launched a boycott against Victoria’s tourism sector in response to the region’s lack of formal sewage treatment. Washington State lawmakers forced then British Columbia Premier Mike Harcourt to enter into an informal agreement with then Washington State Governor Mike Lowry that Victoria would build primary sewage treatment by 2002 and secondary treatment by 2008. Despite averting further boycotts, major conferences sidestepped the city and the tourism sector as a whole took to heart the wrath of an angry neighbour.
It was not until 2003 that the CRD began pressuring the provincial government to approve its 25 year Core Area Liquid Waste Management Plan, a plan not hinged on a commitment to formal treatment. However, come 2006 former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell met with former Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire to discuss the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. Legend has it that Governor Gregoire took that opportunity to read Premier Campbell the riot act regarding Victoria’s broken promises, informal or not, to build a sewage treatment plant. As a result of this meeting, some theorize, Premier Campbell immediately instructed his Environment Minister Barry Penner to “order” the CRD to make good on those promises. Soon afterwards the media began publishing stories describing imminent sewage treatment plant development with a potential construction start merely a year away. The provincial government announced its commitment to funding one-third of the cost of sewage treatment on the condition that Partnerships BC be able to take a hard look at a public-private-partnership to build and operate the facilities.
Although no shovels had hit the ground within the first year as initially expected, in 2008 an open and transparent sewage treatment public consultation process was announced by Chris Clement who at the time was the CRD Sewage Committee Chair and Mayor of Esquimalt. The plan back then revolved around 32 small resource recovery treatment plants situated throughout the south Island.
Observations
In 2009 the CRD announced that sewage treatment would take place across four treatment sites instead of 32. The plan would now yield facilities at Clover Point in Victoria, a site in Esquimalt, a site in Saanich East, and one on the westshore. Contrary to the open and transparent consultation process discussed only two years prior, the CRD purchased Haro Woods in Saanich East for $6.9 million without any public engagement. The following year the CRD abandoned it’s plan to use the newly acquired Haro Woods property due to strong neighbourhood opposition.
In 2012 two-thirds of the project cost, estimated to be around the $1 billion mark, was formally secured from both the provincial and federal governments.
Cl McLoughlin Point at the entrance of the Inner Harbour in Esquimalt has been chosen by the Seaterra Program as the future site of the region's sewage treatment plant. Photo © Skyscraper Source Media.
2013 was a busy year for the CRD. Starting with the purchase of a $17 million property on Viewfield Road in Esquimalt (along the City of Victoria border) earmarked for a bio-solids resource recovery plant, the CRD once again made a costly and significant decision without public consultation. A citizens uprising eventually forced the CRD to abandon its Viewfield Road plans and lease the land back to its former owner. McLoughlin Point along Esquimalt’s eastern waterfront was also purchased (for $4.6 million) with the intent of using the site for the actual sewage treatment plant. As opposition to the CRD’s plans at McLoughlin Point began to mount the CRD learned that the opportunity for sewage sludge cost-recovery would be no longer due to the government’s rejection of an application to convert sewage sludge into fertilizer for use on land applications. After this series of upsets the CRD recognized that its board and committees were incapable of overseeing such a complex project which lead to the formation of the Seaterra Program and the appointment of a civil commission that included the hiring of Albert Sweetnam as Seaterra Program CEO.
In the spring of 2014 Esquimalt councillors voted to reject Seaterra’s application to rezone McLoughlin Point and vowed to enact bylaws to ensure that a sewage treatment plant would not be built on the property. Seaterra reacted to the vote by applying to the provincial government with a request to veto Esquimalt’s decision. Right around this time the City of Colwood decided to study the possibility of opting out of the Seaterra Program and potentially find a standalone sewage treatment solution.
Seaterra has since confirmed that Harbour Resource Partners has been chosen to construct and operate the sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Point despite Esquimalt’s vote to keep the facility off that land. Seaterra also announced a plan to send sewage sludge to what will become the Hartland Resource Recovery Centre (HRRC) at Hartland Landfill in Saanich via an 18 kilometer pipeline from McLoughlin Point. At the HRRC, the plan calls for either incinerating or digesting sewage sludge with the opportunity to also provide the material to a contractor for removal, although confusion remains over which option(s) will be chosen and what the HRRC site will actually entail.
To-date the Seaterra Program and the CRD’s handling of the sewage treatment issue has been contentious. The decades-old debate over whether there is even a need for a billion dollar sewage treatment plant in light of the unique conditions presented by the region’s location along the Salish Sea still continues, and some residents wonder why plans for a series of small tertiary treatment plants nestled into neighbourhoods were dropped in favour of a single large facility at the entrance to the Inner Harbour. The 18 kilometer pipeline between a harbourfront treatment plant and the HRRC is another point of contention and to project opponents represents yet another foolhardy undertaking. And in this sea of contention there are those who support the plans as proposed and wish to see this project underway as soon as possible.
Mayor of View Royal and CRD board member Graham Hill described the situation facing Seaterra and the CRD as such,
“We have an angry public out there.” “Frankly, they are as mad as hell [and] …there has been an enormous loss of trust within our community. …We got it wrong, we got it really wrong.”
Hill’s CRD colleague, Saanich councillor and CRD Director Leif Wergeland in response to the public outcry has stated that “heads should roll” and asked “what is it we’re not learning [from the public]?”
2013 was a busy year for the CRD. Starting with the purchase of a $17 million property on Viewfield Road in Esquimalt (along the City of Victoria border) earmarked for a bio-solids resource recovery plant, the CRD once again made a costly and significant decision without public consultation. A citizens uprising eventually forced the CRD to abandon its Viewfield Road plans and lease the land back to its former owner. McLoughlin Point along Esquimalt’s eastern waterfront was also purchased (for $4.6 million) with the intent of using the site for the actual sewage treatment plant. As opposition to the CRD’s plans at McLoughlin Point began to mount the CRD learned that the opportunity for sewage sludge cost-recovery would be no longer due to the government’s rejection of an application to convert sewage sludge into fertilizer for use on land applications. After this series of upsets the CRD recognized that its board and committees were incapable of overseeing such a complex project which lead to the formation of the Seaterra Program and the appointment of a civil commission that included the hiring of Albert Sweetnam as Seaterra Program CEO.
In the spring of 2014 Esquimalt councillors voted to reject Seaterra’s application to rezone McLoughlin Point and vowed to enact bylaws to ensure that a sewage treatment plant would not be built on the property. Seaterra reacted to the vote by applying to the provincial government with a request to veto Esquimalt’s decision. Right around this time the City of Colwood decided to study the possibility of opting out of the Seaterra Program and potentially find a standalone sewage treatment solution.
Seaterra has since confirmed that Harbour Resource Partners has been chosen to construct and operate the sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Point despite Esquimalt’s vote to keep the facility off that land. Seaterra also announced a plan to send sewage sludge to what will become the Hartland Resource Recovery Centre (HRRC) at Hartland Landfill in Saanich via an 18 kilometer pipeline from McLoughlin Point. At the HRRC, the plan calls for either incinerating or digesting sewage sludge with the opportunity to also provide the material to a contractor for removal, although confusion remains over which option(s) will be chosen and what the HRRC site will actually entail.
To-date the Seaterra Program and the CRD’s handling of the sewage treatment issue has been contentious. The decades-old debate over whether there is even a need for a billion dollar sewage treatment plant in light of the unique conditions presented by the region’s location along the Salish Sea still continues, and some residents wonder why plans for a series of small tertiary treatment plants nestled into neighbourhoods were dropped in favour of a single large facility at the entrance to the Inner Harbour. The 18 kilometer pipeline between a harbourfront treatment plant and the HRRC is another point of contention and to project opponents represents yet another foolhardy undertaking. And in this sea of contention there are those who support the plans as proposed and wish to see this project underway as soon as possible.
Mayor of View Royal and CRD board member Graham Hill described the situation facing Seaterra and the CRD as such,
“We have an angry public out there.” “Frankly, they are as mad as hell [and] …there has been an enormous loss of trust within our community. …We got it wrong, we got it really wrong.”
Hill’s CRD colleague, Saanich councillor and CRD Director Leif Wergeland in response to the public outcry has stated that “heads should roll” and asked “what is it we’re not learning [from the public]?”