Sewage stench angers Deux-Montages residents
Last Updated: Thursday, November 19, 2009 | 7:54 PM ET
CBC News
Officials were first warned of problems at the Deux-Montagnes sewage treatment plant in 2007. (CBC)Officials in Deux-Montagnes say they will try to solve problems with the sewage treatment plant after residents complained about the stench in the area northwest of Montreal.
More than 100 complaints have come in since the spring, although documents show regional officials have been aware of problems since March 2007.
"We can smell it," said St-Marthe-sur-le-lac resident Stéphane Létourneaux. "It makes us want to vomit, it is so intense."
The Deux-Montagnes sewage treatment plant was built 10 years ago but was ill-prepared to handle the population growth in the four communities it serves.
St-Joseph-du-Lac resident Stéphane Létourneaux says the smell from the sewage plant makes him want to vomit. (CBC)
Sewage levels in the plant’s treatment ponds are five per cent higher than permitted, and 11 out of the 25 aerators used to treat the sewage are broken.
"We can’t eat outside," said resident Stéphane St-Pierre. "Even when it is really hot, we have to keep the windows closed."
And the smell isn’t the only problem. Untreated sewage from the plant often runs straight into the Mille-Îles River, said Stéphane Giguère, director of the town of St-Joseph-du-lac.
"The more sewage there is in the [treatment] ponds, the less space there is to treat the water," Giguère said.
In July, phosphorous levels in the Lake of Two Mountains were three times higher than allowed. Chloroform levels were eight times higher than allowed.
Deux-Montagnes Mayor Marc Lauzon, who is responsible for the plant, admits officials waited too long to act.
Phosphorous and choloform levels were higher than permitted in the Lake of Two Mountains in July. (CBC) "Its sewage, it's far … there is no smell, so there is no problem," Lauzon said to explain how the delay might have occurred. "Everything was done haphazardly. There was no really precise way to measure the sewage levels."
In August, the provincial Municipal Affairs Department ordered local officials to table an action plan to repair the plant by Sept. 7.
Officials said the treatment ponds will be drained, which should help eliminate the odour, but the company hired for the work won’t be available until the spring.
This shouldn’t be a big problem, Giguère said.
"In the winter, the water is really cold and we shouldn’t have … the type of problems we had this summer."
