One of the key parts of the Water Wise education program is taking students for tours to see where City water comes from and where the City sewage goes. It is helpful for them to meet the City staff and understand what is involved in ensuring safe water and sanitation, most of which happens behind the scenes and can be easily taken by all of us for granted.
Recently it was the seniors’ turn. The Elder College ran a two-part Water Wise workshop, with the City tour making up the second part. Looking at what comes down sewage pipes might not be everyone’s idea of a great time, but hopefully seeing the process helps to inform citizens so that can help protect our water and sewer infrastructure, in turn protecting our watersheds.
One of the primary requests from sewer staff worldwide is to only put the ‘3 Ps’ down toilets and drains; pee, poo and (toilet) paper. You may have heard of the infamous ‘fatbergs’ creating issues in sewer systems all over the world; solid, apparently very stinky, greasy masses sometimes the size of a small house.
Fatbergs are formed when oil, grease and fat poured down drains combine with non-biodegradable items such as wet wipes, nappies and cotton buds. In Richmond this summer, almost 50 tonnes of fatberg were removed; costs were into the millions for removal and damage to the waste water treatment plant.
Williams Lake sewage is collected in lagoons in the river valley where it is processed by bacteria.
These bacteria are pretty efficient at dealing with the there Ps.
However, they are not as effective at breaking down non-organic waste products, such as chemical cleaners, medications and paints.
Once the sewage has passed through the lagoon system, it is discharged directly into the Fraser River, meaning that many of these pollutants continue into the river and are in the ocean a week later.
So, when you next turn on a tap in Williams Lake, think of the fish that water will meet on its way to the ocean. You can help keep their water clean by avoiding putting any chemicals down drains and returning expired medications to pharmacists rather than flushing them.
You can also help protect local sewer infrastructure and keep City maintenance and repair costs down by never disposing of fats and oils down drains; our City staff regularly have to clean fat from the sewer infrastructure to prevent larger scale damage. In Vancouver they have a ‘wipe it/green bin it’ campaign, but that’s not an option here without a green bin program.
Some suggest freezing and composting grease or burying it - while small amounts might be OK, that seems potentially problematic living in a region frequented by bears. For our region, unfortunately often the best option is to put larger quantities of solidified grease products in the garbage.
A big thanks to the City of Williams lake staff for these tours and all they do to make sure we all have safe water and take care of our sewage. It’s something that in most parts of Canada we take for granted and yet forms the very foundations of a healthy community.
