PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
2004-10-01

 
For further information contact:
Cindie Ashton, Communications Officer, 546-4291, extension 3116

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS
ON HARBOURFRONT SEWER

Utilities Kingston will begin construction of the Harbourfront Trunk Sewer next week.

The much anticipated Harbourfront Trunk Sewer is a 1.2-metre-diameter concrete pipe designed to collect household wastewater and stormwater from the combined sewer system in the downtown area and transport it to the River Street Pumping Station.

	IN THE NEWS BACKGROUND Learn more about the Harbourfront Trunk Sewer project.

This stretch of the Harbourfront Trunk Sewer will run from Cataraqui Street to Bay Street, mid-way between Rideau Street and the Inner Harbour.

"The Harbourfront Trunk Sewer project is one piece of the larger Pollution Control Plan, a plan to improve the sewage collection system and reduce the number of sewage bypasses," says Jim Miller, Manager of Technical Services.

In 1992, the City developed a comprehensive Pollution Control Plan to address water pollution issues and the capacity limitations of the sewage collection system.

The plan led to a long-term strategy for dealing with water pollution along the waterfront and recommended a number of infrastructure improvement projects. In 2000, the plan was reviewed for progress and reevaluated the current priorities, in particular, combined sewer overflows.

Many homes, in older parts of the City, are serviced by a combined storm and sanitary sewer system. These combined sewers transport both household wastewater and rainwater.

During heavy rainfalls these combined sewers can become overloaded causing backups into basements and in extreme cases forcing Utilities Kingston to release the untreated wastewater and stormwater into local waterways.

"The new Harbourfront Trunk Sewer will provided increased capacity to transport the wastewater and stormwater from the combined system, decreasing the amount that is released into waterways during heavy rain falls," says Miller.

In addition to the Harbourfront Trunk Sewer project, there are a number of other projects recommended in the Pollution Control Plan that are currently in progress or nearly completed. "Combined these projects total approximately $50 million and are necessary to increase environmental protection," adds Miller.

Current related projects include:

• Upgrades to the River Street Pumping Station. The upgrades are not only necessary to accept the increased capacity of the Harbourfront Trunk Sewer, but also to become the final connection to pump the sewage into the new sewer pipes placed beneath the Cataraqui River this summer.
• The Cataraqui River sewer pipe crossing will transport the wastewater to the Ravensview Water Pollution Control Plant.
• A number of combined sewer overflow tanks have been installed across the downtown. Construction is scheduled to start this year on the final two underground tanks, one in Emma Martin Park and the other near the King Street Water Treatment Plant. The tanks store excess stormwater and wastewater when the combined sewer system becomes overloaded, decreasing the amount of untreated water released into local waterways.

Also, upgrades to the Ravensview Water Pollution Control Plant, as recommended in the recent Environmental Assessment, are now in the preliminary design stages. The upgrades at the plant will increase capacity, add a secondary treatment process, provide additional treatment equipment, and update the plant odour control and electronic systems.

The total cost of the Ravensview project is estimated to be $100 million. Costs directly associated with upgrades at the plant, to protect the environment and public health, will be recovered through sewer rates. Costs directly associated with expanding the plant, to accommodate future growth, will be recovered through impost fees assessed directly against future development.

The Federal Government has committed up to $25 million in grants towards the Ravensview project. Utilities Kingston and the City will be pursuing all possible funding opportunities to reduce its net share of the project cost.

For more information on these and other projects, visit www.utilitieskingston.com.

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