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2-The Canadian Champion, Friday, March 12, 2004 -/~-~ See dealer for details. 400 Steeles Avenue 905 875-1700 -Consultant plant odours By JASON MISNER The Champion Halton Region is planning to hire a con- sultant this sumnîer to study the Fulton Street sewage trcatmnent plant to see what else can be donc to minimize smell comning from the 60-year-old facility. Lee Anne Jones, manager of infrastruc- ture planning with the Region's planning and transportation division, updated Milton's comniunity services committele Monday night on work bcing done to the sewage trcatmnent plant, whicb includes the hiring of an odour consultant. "We do need to aasess wherc they're bcmng generated and whcn, and wc're doing that in the sumnmer"- she told com- mittee members. In an interview after the meeting, Ms Jones said the Region haan't retaincd a consultant yet. But the airu is to have test- ing donc in fisc summer, likely between June and September, to see where odours may be coming from. "We'rc still scoping out the project." The consultant's recommendations would be reviewcd by regional council for coats to be considered in the 2005 budget. Residents have complained for some time about odour, at its worst in the sum- mer, from the scwagc treatment plant. Committcc members were told about an odour measure taken by the Region in January. It installcd a $50,000 special car- bon-filter to eut down on smell gcneratcd when treated sludge - a treated solid sewage byproduct - is transferred from a holding tank to a truck to be fuether trcatcd off-site. The sludge is heated to kilt pathogens so it can uscd for farm sprcad- ing. When the materiat is moved around, it can create an odour. The special filter is attached to the truekas pump to eut down on thc odour. She said regional staff have visited thc site and found the filter is working well. Ms Joncs told conanittce members the Milton plant is undergoing a $2.4 million expansion intemnally to handle more wastc from residential and industrial users. It's expectcd to be completcd by Uic end of the ycar. 'hat will bring thetotal to a maxcd out scwage capacity of 18,500 cubie- mctres-per-day, amounting to 41,100 peo- ple. Future sewagc outflow will be handled by north Oakvillc's mid-Halton scwage trcatmcnt plant. 'Me Region is also working to instali a $1. 1 million systemn using ultraviolet raya to more effcctively treat the scwage before it's dischargcd into nearby Sixteen Mile Crcck, the commincee was told. Currently the sewagc is treatcd wiUi cblorine to remove pathogens. The proposed system is before a class environmental assessment. If things go accordingly, thc new systcmn is cxpected to be ready in Uic summer of 2005. Ms Joncs said Uic $1.1I million includes potential construction cost. increases that have been accu in other sewage-relatcd expansion projects. 'he waste handling upgradcs at the Milton plant ballooned by about $1 mil- lion. A lack of contractors wiUi Uic tcchni- cal expertise to complete Uicsc complicat- cd water/sewagc projects combincd wiUi ample construction opportunities have been driving up prices. "We're not sccing Uic type of increase (in UV construction) we saw in Uic sludgc pumping projecta,' Ms Joncs sald. Jason Misner can be reached at jmia- ner@miltoncanadianchaspion.com. W_ a www.mllton.toyota.ca - .' L~ Mpaa-TYl ý ý OC» 1 n20 c - ý ý ff.m n U m ,W fdtMPECU0SX 1101001.11t 16