About three dozen Kippens residents attended a meeting last week to hear about a proposed sewer system for the town.
They listened as Glenn Sharpe, a representative from Abydoz Enviromental, a wastewater treatment firm, discussed an upcoming waste treatment feasibility study his company was asked to conduct by the town council.
He said a previous study for the town, conducted by another company, selected an engineered wetland as a preferred waste treatment system for the Town of Kippens.
“Basically the town has asked us to look at this and identify the full costs of what a system would be to put in and what are options to look at to possibly reduce the costs,” said Mr. Sharpe.
“Overall, the Kippens design is based on the population. There's approximately 1,800 people living in Kippens, give or take a little bit. We'll be looking at that design plus a growth over 20 or 25 years. So you build this system for growth expansion in the future.”
Mr. Sharpe said after collecting sewage and removing plastics and other items, the first stage of a treatment facility is to separate liquid and solid sewerage.
In an engineered wetland system, liquid waste then goes through a region of specialized soil and reed plants.
"As (the liquids) flow through the wetlands, the plants transfer air down into the dry zone, the root zone. That air allows bacteria to live below the surface,” he said. “Basically the bacteria eats and consumes the waste.”
He noted the liquids become cleaner the longer they are kept in the wetland area – and are not released until the liquid reaches an acceptable level of cleanliness.
Mr. Sharpe said solid waste is taken to another treatment area, which he referred to as sludge treatment cells. There reed plants dewater and mineralize the sludge through natural processes.
“We transfer those solids into a compost material which the town can reuse for landscaping purposes or other things – or Abydoz will actually take that and actually use it in our nursery,” he said.
If the town were to select an Abydoz system, the company would provide a 75-year warranty, but Mr. Sharpe noted the town would be responsible for the operational costs of the system during its lifetime.
“The longer a system works … the less you have to pay to replace it. So overall, it costs you less over the lifetime.”
“We have to impress upon the government that yes, we want this system – we need it because we are continuing to grow. And as we continue to grow we have to take care of our waste. Septics down the road will not cut it.” - Councillor Debbie Brake-Patten
Sewer lines
As there is currently no sewer collection system in Kippens, a town-wide sewer system would have to be phased in to move sewerage to a treatment site or sites.
Mr. Sharpe said there were three main options for the Town of Kippens. One being a centralized treatment centre, which brings all sewerage together and treats it in one place. Another option is de-centralized treatment, with different collection and treatment sites located in the town. The third option is expansion of the nearby Stephenville Abydoz wetland system, bringing sewerage to that town’s facility for treatment.
Mr. Sharpe said all three options would be looked at independently, with costs of each estimated in the feasiblity study. The town would then decide which would be the best option to pursue.
Among the residents raising questions was Norma Childs, who asked about the costs associated with the sewer system for individual homeowners. Mr. Sharpe said full costs wouldn’t be known until the study is completed and the town decides how it wants to proceed.
Resident Martha Wall asked if a wetlands site in Kippens would have a foul smell similar to that coming from the Stephenville wetland facility.
Mr. Sharpe said problems with the Stephenville facility were currently being addressed, noting open holding tanks were causing the odor problems and not the actual wetlands.
Another resident asked about government funding for the project. Councillor Debbie Brake-Patten said the town was actively trying to engage the government on the issue.
“We have to impress upon the government that yes, we want this system – we need it because we are continuing to grow,” she said. “And as we continue to grow we have to take care of our waste. Septics down the road will not cut it.”
Other questions included the location of a treatment site and what happens to septic tanks once sewer lines are in place. Mr. Sharpe said these and other concerns would be dealt with in the study.
Councillor Brake-Patten noted once the study is completed, another public meeting will be held to discuss the results and to get public input on how to proceed.
