Waste management flushes for 20 years
by Blake Wolfe/The Scugog Standard

Port Perry residents got a small update last week regarding progress on improvements to the community’s sewage treatment, a project that will accommodate anticipated population increases over at least the next 20 years.
_Representatives from Durham Region’s Works Department and consultant CH2M Hill met with local residents at the Scugog Memorial Public Library last Thursday (Dec. 1), to discuss plans that will result in increased sewage treatment for the Port Perry urban area, and ultimately allow for additional growth.
_According to project manager Rich Tindall of the Region’s Works Department, while a “full build-out” of the area in question is 15,000 residents - up slightly from the approximate current population of 10,000 - a total of only 11,800 residents is anticipated by 2031. He added that any system built would be able to accommodate the full build-out population through add-ons.
_Although still in the preliminary phase, planners have narrowed their approach to expanding sewage capacity to two options: optimizing and/or expanding the existing lagoon facility; or constructing a new plant that would still make use of the lagoon system for water treatment. Depending on the approach taken by the Region, consultant Jeremy Kraemer said that possible technologies involved could include engineered wetlands or the use of a membrane bioreactor, which acts as a sieve to catch waste materials. Both options recommend chemical removal of phosphorous, disinfecting wastewater with UV light and regular discharge of the Nonquon River.
_The audience in attendance was largely uncritical of the presentation, but at least one resident questioned the plan’s progress. Former Scugog mayor Doug Moffatt, a proponent of ‘snowfluent’ technology (in which wastewater is frozen and sprayed onto vacant land to be naturally filtered by the ground and evaporated as pure water back into the atmosphere), questioned why the technology was discounted by the Region in favour of other options, which he said would only contribute to ongoing nutrient loading into Lake Scugog and other local bodies of water.
_Mr. Tindall responded by saying that current nutrient loads emitted by the lagoons, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, account for only two per cent of the total amount of such substances entering local waterways, with the majority coming from farm sources.
_Mr. Kraemer responded to the inquiry by saying that use of snowfluent technology would not be feasible for the Nonquon lagoons due to the amount of land needed and a lack of storage capacity for excess water. He declined a request from Mr. Moffatt to re-examine the use of the technology.
_According to Mr. Tindall, a price “in the millions” (the project will be funded at the Regional level, he said) will be unveiled at the next public meeting in Port Perry in May, after both treatment strategies are assessed and one is chosen. An environmental study report on the project is expected to be filed in September 2012.