The township’s water treatment operated at close to capacity but without incident in 2014, the Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) reports.
OCWA’s annual performance report on the Mapleton Water Pollution Control Plant was presented to council by public works director Brad McRoberts on April 14.
With average daily flows of 684 cubic metres per day the plant operated at about 92 per cent of the design capacity of 750m3/day.
“Which is pushing pretty close to our limits,” McRoberts noted. However, he added, “We did meet all of our effluent compliance requirements.”
The OCWA report indicates there were no bypasses, spills or abnormal discharge events in 2014.
Council received the report and directed it be posted on the township’s website.
While the performance report generated no concerns, a 2014-15 Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) inspection report on the plant did reveal some issues.
The MOECC report notes not all raw sewage sampling requirements prescribed by the Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) were met.
McRoberts advised council in a written report that staff will review the ability to collect composite samples of the raw sewage and, if feasible, will implement the appropriate sampling.
“If it is impractical then township staff will request an amendment to the ECA,” the report states.
The ministry also indicted past annual performance reports on the plant did not meet all the ECA submission and contents requirements. McRoberts explained no further action is required as the 2014 annual report has been submitted with the information required.
The ministry also recommended the township consider establishment of a program for assessing sludge accumulation and budgeting for sludge removal work to be conducted sometime in the future. McRoberts stated township and OCWA staff will be establishing a sludge management plan.
The following issues were also noted during the inspection:
– the time between daily visits by the operator varies significantly. If more than 24 hours pass between visits, the calculated discharge volume can appear to exceed the maximum permitted daily discharge volume. “In fact, the maximum day discharge volumes as reported all appear to exceed the allowed volume for each discharge month of the inspection review period”;
– a review of Moorefield sewage pumping station flowmeter records showed that from 2011 to 2013, one to two days per month were often not recorded. However, record keeping for the Moorefield sewage pumping station improved in 2014, as flows were recorded virtually every day that year;
– the HSI turbo blowers are reported to have experienced long-term breakdowns and they appear to be a chronic maintenance issue at the plant; and
– efforts should be made to ensure daily records continue to be maintained of inflow to and effluent from the plant.
McRoberts stated township staff and the OCWA will be developing solutions for these issues as part of the 2015 Optimization Project.
He also noted funds have been included in the township’s 2015 capital budget to deal with many of the issues highlighted in the report.
