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RAVENSVIEW

Upgrading the Ravensview Water Pollution Control Plant is the largest capital project ever undertaken by the City of Kingston.

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COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS

Bypass Reduction: What We've Done


IN THIS SECTION


SEWER OVERFLOW HOME

Return to the Combined Sewer Overflow home page.

 

MAP


CSO CONTROL TANKS

This maps show the location of Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) control tanks and other key features of the city's sewage system.
[PDF 442KB]

 

PDF HELP


ADOBE READER

The freely available Adobe Reader software can be used to view the PDF documents on the Utilities Kingston Web site.

The City of Kingston completed a Pollution Control Planning Study (PCP) in 1992 to examine the environmental and infrastructure impacts of the combined sewer system. The 1992 plan recommended that the combined sewer overflows to Lake Ontario and the Great Cataraqui River be reduced to address beach contamination and closures (frequent at the time). The following measures were recommended:

  • Build large storage tanks to control combined sewer overflows during high flows,
  • Upgrade the existing sewer pumping stations, and
  • Upgrade and maintain the trunk sewers.

In 2001, an update to the Pollution Control Plan was completed to document work completed and to identify additional works to be done as well as reflect the changes in the policies at the Ministry of the Environment (MOE). The update supported the recommendations of the original plan and today, all major components of the Pollution Control Plan have either been completed or are nearing completion.

For example, the CSO storage facilities have all been completed — most recently the Emma Martin Park CSO Tank and the Collingwood CSO Tank. These tanks collect and store the excess flow during high flows and slowly discharge the wastewater back into the system at a controlled rate.

Utilities Kingston has completed a Critical Evaluation of Kingston's Combined Sewers. This study was initiated to evaluate various strategies regarding keeping the combined sewers or separating the sewer system. The recommendations from this report will provide a policy for improving the central and downtown infrastructure in the years to come.

Utilities Kingston continues to replace or rehabilitate aging sewers on an annual basis. Also, residents of Kingston help by replacing or repairing private sanitary sewer laterals on their properties.

Utilities Kingston has initiated CSO monitoring, debris monitoring and tracking programs. These programs will allow Utilities Kingston to clearly identify what is actually happening in the sewer system so that the appropriate resources can be allocated to combat the problem. Residents of the City of Kingston will benefit from a holistic view of the sewer system, rather than on a problem by problem basis.

Utilities Kingston initiated an Extraneous Flow Reduction Program in 2003 to help identify and eliminate extraneous flow sources. In order to track the success of the program, one area was selected to concentrate the program's efforts. The area serviced by the Palace Road Sewage Lift Station was chosen due to its size and ease of demonstrating the results. The Extraneous Flow Reduction Program includes upgrades to infrastructure (Sewage Lift Station, sanitary sewer pipe rehabilitation), incentive programs such as the Rain Barrel Program and bylaw enforcement. To date, Utilities Kingston has completed upgrades to the Sewage Lift Station, inspected the sanitary sewer mains using closed circuit television (CCTV), prioritized sewer main replacement in the area and identified several programs to complete with the residents in the area to reduce extraneous flow.

The table below contains the list of capital projects and their associated costs to complete that Utilities Kingston has initiated and completed.

Capital Projects to combat the CSO issue

Project

Status

Cost

Combined Sewer Projects

5 inline storage facilities

Completed 1992

$500,000

Clarence St. CSO

Completed 1998

$200,000

O'Kill CSO

Completed 1999

$2,200,000

Collingwood CSO

Completed 2005

$3,900,000

Emma Martin Park CSO

Completed 2006

$7,900,000

Total

 

$14,700,000

Pumping Station Upgrades

O'Kill Pumping Station

Completed 1997

$1,300,000

Portsmouth Pumping Station

Completed 2001

$1,200,000

River St. Pumping Station

Summer 2006

$8,000,000

North End Pumping Station

Summer 2007

$6,000,000

Total

 

$16,500,000

Sewer Main Projects

Cataraqui River Crossing

Completed 2004

$8,400,000

Harbourfront Trunk Sewer Twinning

Completed 2005

$5,300,000

Sewer Replacement Program

Yearly

$2,000,000
per year since 1992

North End Trunk Sewer Remediation

Completed 2006

$1,500,000

Habour Front Trunk Sewer Remediation

Construction start in 2006

$1,500,000

Total

 

$44,700,000

Other Related Projects

Extraneous Flow Reduction Program

Ongoing

$550,000

Ravensview Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrades

Construction to start summer 2006

$115,000,000

Total

 

$115,550,000

Grand Total of completed projects

$58,900,000

Grand Total of pending projects
(inc. $115,000,000 for Ravensview)

$132,550,000


BYPASS REDUCTION: WHAT WE ARE DOING

As part of the City of Kingston's ongoing management of the combined sewer system and the overflows that may occur from time to time, Utilities Kingston has recently refocused attention to other smaller potential overflow locations within the system. Utilities Kingston has identified certain structures within the sanitary and combined systems that under certain conditions might experience overflows of small volumes. These facilities are found within various manholes in the systems that have the potential to overflow when flows within specific pipes exceed the design parameters.

In order to better understand the overflows arising from smaller sections of the infrastructure Utilities Kingston has installed monitoring equipment in various manholes. All information related to overflows (date, cause, etc.) can be found on the bypass log page. Please follow the link provided.


Heading: Notable

CITY PLEDGES MORE WORK
TO CUT SEWAGE BYPASSES

WATER-QUALITY REPORTS

[GET THE REPORTS]