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Flush only the three Ps, public works staff urges

Increase in flushed garbage, chemicals among causes of Hants Border sewage stench

CAROLE MORRIS-UNDERHILL VALLEY JOURNAL-ADVERTISER carole.morris-underhill @saltwire.com @CMUnderhill

The investigation into the rancid sewage smell plaguing the Hants Border community is wrapping up — and it appears residents largely have themselves to blame.

Kings County public works staff have been investigating the strong odour since December and taking steps to mitigate the problem.

A public meeting was scheduled for April 26 to present the findings and discuss the next steps but it had to be cancelled due to increasing COVID-19 case counts in the province.

Aaron Dondale, who has been the manager of public works for the County of Kings since March, said multiple contributing factors caused the problems at the sewage lagoons and they’re still working to get the plant back to optimal efficiency.

“With a lot of incidents, there’s not one single root cause that caused the problem. There are usually a few different contributing factors,” Dondale said.

“The (garbage) waste in the plant is a contributing factor. It’s something that the bacteria can’t process and so it just accumulates and it rots. When you get material that the bugs can’t eat then the smell that is capable of coming from your plant changes,” he continued.

“That’s one of the issues in Hants Border. It’s not a

FLUSH

traditional septic smell. There’s a rancid, rotting component to the smell.”

In October 2020, the seasonal turnover occurred at the plant and a change in the lagoon’s colour and odour was observed. A large amount of sludge and trash also began to float in the first lagoon.

By December 2020, the county hired divers to inspect and clean the diffusers located within the lagoon. In January, garbage and cattails around the edge of the lagoons were excavated.

A thick fibrous substance resembling mop strings was pulled off of the diffusers in the Hants Border sewage lagoon in mid-March. An analysis of this material, Dondale said, showed that it is composed primarily of disposable wipes — an item that’s not intended to be flushed down the toilet.

“Disposable wipes aren’t disposable. They don’t biodegrade,” said Dondale. “Bacteria can’t digest them. They kind of just sit in the community in the pond and they essentially rot. They’re not being decomposed the way bacteria would decompose human waste.”

Dondale said the only items that should be making their way to the plant is human waste, toilet paper and water. But, that’s not the case. There’s evidence of disposable wipes, feminine hygiene products, condoms, gloves, and fats and oils.

“A lot of what happens in a plant is up to nature. It’s sunshine and temperature and the quality of the water. At the end of the day, it’s basically a bacterial culture that’s eating the human waste,” explained Dondale.

“If it’s only human waste coming to a lagoon, the system is pretty robust and it can sustain itself pretty well. Issues come when things other than human waste start entering that plant.”

In March, experts in lagoon plant performance were contacted and third-party laboratory testing was conducted. In-house staff performed additional work to inspect, clean and replace aerators at the plant, and additional portable aerators were brought in to increase the oxygen in the system to aid bacteria growth. Additionally, an influent investigation got underway with West Hants staff and the plant employees carried out a controlled three-day flush of the sewage lagoons to remove septic water.

In April, additional aerators were installed in the lagoons while the influent investigation continued. Dondale said he remains in contact with experts, and staff visit the Hants Border community daily.

He’s noticed the mitigation efforts, combined with the warmer days and sunshine, appears to be working.

“I’m seeing that plant multiple times a week. I’m comparing it to seven other plants. I’m speaking with experts in California, Ontario and Halifax weekly. I am cautiously optimistic,” said Dondale.

“Everything is trending in the right direction. It’s looking like we’re in good shape,” he continued.

“But, we need people to help. We need to be mindful and aware of what we are putting in our drains — and we just need to recognize that anything other than pee or poo or toilet paper is going to stress the system.”

COVID-19 IMPACTING SYSTEM

Dondale said another factor that has come into play is COVID-19 and the increased strain it’s putting on the system.

“COVID has impacted our plants,” said Dondale.

“When we speak to wastewater experts, lagoon plants, in particular, have been impacted by COVID,” he continued.

While it may sound like a stretch, Dondale said workfrom-home orders and other pandemic measures have resulted in more people being at home using the system.

“Think about Hantsport.

In a lot of ways, it’s almost a residential community,” said Dondale. “So, if you have more people working from home, you’re potentially getting more waste going to a plant than you would have at other times.”

Additionally, with the increased use of sanitizers, more bacteria-killing products are entering the system.

“Anti-bacteria products, of course, are designed to kill bacteria. In a wastewater plant that relies on bacteria, it won’t kill the plant but it will stress it,” said Dondale. “That could be a contributing factor in this case.”

Surf Restaurants Inc. owner Melinda Roast told the SaltWire Network in midApril that the smell was having an impact on her business, noting as a small business owner she was already struggling due to the impact of the pandemic.

“This has been eight months,” Roast was reported as saying. “People are living in this, sleeping in this, breathing it day in and day out and working in it.”

Dondale said they are aware of the public’s concerns and are working hard to rectify the situation.

NEXT STEPS

Starting the week of May 10, Dondale said they intend to work with West Hants staff to continue the influent investigation. They will also clean the lift stations, which serve to pump waste from various points in the community to the plant.

“We think we have the plant in pretty good shape so we’re going to move on to the lift stations to make sure that we’re not further contaminating the plant from a lift station,” said Dondale.

He said residents will see a giant vacuum truck in the area that week, allowing staff to pressure wash and clean the lift stations.

“While we’re doing that, we’re going to be adding fresh bacteria to the lift stations too so that all of the septic lines get a new seed of bacteria,” he said.

The investigation to date has shown that some areas in town produce influent that “doesn’t look quite right” so further sampling is required.

Dondale, who is responsible for eight plants, three water treatment sites and 73 lift stations in the county, said

they’ve noticed a fair amount of fatty acids in the Hants Border lagoons, which they don’t see in the other facilities. Fatty acid is a digested byproduct from either fat, oil or grease, he said.

“When COVID allows, we’re going to start doing some public awareness and inspections in the community to make sure restaurants have the right infrastructure installed to prevent anything from coming into the plant,” he said.

Dondale said there are some infrastructure upgrades that they’re starting to plan, but they will take time to come to fruition.

“If you look at a lot of the infrastructure in the valley, it’s from the ‘80s, sometimes even earlier. The reality is the waste a household generates today isn’t the same as it was in the ‘80s,” said Dondale.

He said they will be considering adding screens, filtrations or chopper style pumps to help prevent some of this trash that’s going in. Larger cities, like Halifax or Calgary, already have systems in place to filter out trash.

But, the key to having a healthy lagoon is having the general public take responsibility for what they’re flushing down the drains.

“I think people tend to think when you flush something down the toilet it goes away and it’s gone. The reality is, it very much stays in your community and it will very much continue to impact your community,” said Dondale.

“The best thing to do is only put the right stuff down a toilet; only put the right stuff down a drain. If we do that, the lagoon is robust enough to keep up and do what it needs to do.”

An online meeting for those affected by the Hants Border smell is currently being planned. As of press time, the date had not been set. In the meantime, Dondale said staff are more than happy to answer questions and concerns that residents might have.

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2021-05-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-05-04T07:00:00.0000000Z

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