Second life for sewage treatment plant?
Posted By Nick Gardiner, Brockville Recorder and Times Staff Writer
They're not getting out the mothballs yet for Prescott's old municipal sewage treatment plant.
A committee-of-the-whole meeting of Prescott council Monday night heard plans from public works director Craig Cullen to investigate possible uses - and revenue sources - for the Johnstown-area plant that was taken off-line last month.
That's when a new $18-million plant in the same area became fully operational despite continuing problems with leaks in water tanks.
It's a deficiency that has to be addressed before the town takes ownership of the plant, Cullen told The Recorder and Times, reiterating a point he made earlier to the committee.
Leaks in the holding tanks delayed the plant from opening early this year but the use of chemical injections to bond cracks seems to be working, said Cullen.
"So far it's been OK," he said, adding it's not uncommon to have cracks in the concrete containers because of their size and the volume of water they hold.
Meanwhile, the old plant remains certified by the Ministry of Environment to treat grey water and septage and could be upgraded as required with grants for green initiatives from senior-level governments, he said.
"Structurally, it's still in very good shape," said Cullen, adding the old facility could become an important revenue generator for the town.
"Before closing a $1-million piece of infrastructure that size, let's look at opportunities out there."
What opportunities he finds could affect another infrastructure project on the books to install multiple sludge drying beds adjacent to the sewage plant.
The committee endorsed an agreement of the $780,000 project funded in one-third shares by the town and federal and provincial governments.
But Cullen said he's won't determine how many sludge beds to recommend for the project until he sees what opportunities arise from reopening the old sewage plant and how the two facilities can be best utilized together for the town's benefit.
"I'd just like to look at all the options," said Cullen, who recently returned to the job in Prescott after a three-month stint in Ottawa.
He said water and sewer systems for all municipalities have to be self-sufficient by 2012 and maintaining the old sewage plant could help reach that goal.
Cullen expects work to begin next year on the sludge beds with completion required by 2011 to remain eligible for funding.
That project will save the cost of transferring liquid waste from the sewage treatment plant for disposal in Ottawa, said Cullen.
Instead, the waste will be dried and the final product sold as fertilizer on farm fields, he said.
nickg@recorder.ca
Article ID# 1774352