What do you do with enough sludge to fill 120 pools?
Posted By MATTHEW VAN DONGEN
Niagara Region wants you to think beyond the flush.
For the first time since 2001, the regional government is updating its biosolids master plan.
That means planners are brainstorming ways to deal with oursewage sludge, the watery muck left over after regional sewagetreatment plants do their, er, business.
Niagara's 13 sewage plants can produce more than 375,000 cubicmetres of the stinky stuff in a year -- enough to fill 120 Olympicsizedswimming pools.
Finding a home for sewage sludge has been a sticky dilemma in the past.
That's why the Region wants to hear from you, said associate wastewater director Gord Miokovic.
"We want to be responsive to the public," said Miokovic. "We'd like their feedback."
Through its master plan, the Region wants to map out how to deal with sludge for the next 21 years.
The study will assess how Niagara currently manages the muck,examine new strategies and review public confidence in its methods.
Right now, about half of the biosolids are "dewatered" andshipped to a company in Thorold, N-Viro Systems, which uses an alkalinetreatment to turn the sludge into dry, saleable fertilizer.
The remainder is injected into farm fields as liquidfertilizer, a provincially regulated practice dating back to the 1970s.Last year, the bulk of the stuff went to fields in Wainfleet, FortErie, West Lincoln and Lincoln.
It's a "very valid use," according to Miokovic, not to mention the cheapest solution.
But it's not the most popular.
Neighbours of sludge-fertilized fields sometimes complain aboutthe smell. Environmentalists worry about spreading human waste, evenproperly treated waste, on fields that grow crops for humans to eat.And if
biosolids are spread improperly, or too close to water, theycan become an environmental contaminant instead of a beneficialfertilizer.
The Region must deal with other sludge-related challenges, too,like repeated mechanical breakdowns this year at its biosolidsprocessing plants. Wet weather can also make land application of sludgeunsafe, which sometimes means the stinky stuff ends up in the dump.
There are other alternatives for sludge that a regional consultant will study, Miokovic said.
For example, Hamilton is looking at incinerating most of its sewage sludge to create electricity.
A St. Catharines-based company, Elementa, is proposing anenergy-from-waste plant in Sault Ste. Marie that uses steam to turnsolids like garbage and sludge into gas.
Regardless, the Region wants members of the public to be involved in the study and the decision-making.
A public advisory group will be formed and begin meeting earlynext year, Miokovic said. Citizens can also comment or submit questionsabout the study until mid-December online.
Visit www.niagararegion.ca/living/water/biosolids-management- master-plan. aspx.
Posted on December 7th