Public Works Operations Clerk assigned this issue to Director of Engineering

Public Works Operational Clerk assign to Public Works Supervisor, Public Works Supervisor assigned to Sewer Treatment Plant Foreman, Sewer Treatment Plant Foreman assigns to Sewer Treatment Plant Employee, Sewer Treatment Plant Employees was just hired last week and will investigate.
It rains on Friday, the air cools and the smell goes away except the smell returns for the entire long-weekend. Sewer Treatment Plant Employee reports on Tuesday that he/she didn't smell anything all weekend long while heli-biking on Mt Cartier.
Public Works Supervisor includes report in his/her monthly report to council. Council is shocked to hear of this repeated complaint as they hired a consultant last year to study the situation. Consultant recommended that the issue was caused by a freak weather event where the wind moved the smell into the neighborhood. Consultant is also perplexed as he/she knows that council's poop poop doesn't stink. Council forms a committee to investigate the complaint and to find out just who's poop poop stinks. Committee is heavy weighted by Chamber members at the manipulation of council. Committee concludes this can only be a problem of the lowly locals as the rich and famous have already left for the season and since they have left the obvious solution is to wait until next winter when the smell is solved when they return. Council concluded that we need more rich and famous throughout the summer months to prevent this re-occurrence. Council approved another $250,000 for support of the local airplane service so the rich and famous can fly directly to Revelstoke while being subsidized by the lowly taxpayer not just in the winter but also in the summer. Council hires another consultant to study the correlation between the number of Assies in town and the smell of the poop poop.Consultant concludes we need more Aussies. Council decides that the solution is to build more affordable houses as the locals have no where to live when the Aussies are in town.At $650,000 each the sewer neighborhood is becoming affordable for the locals. The recipientsof the affordable housing project sign a contract to not complain about the smell and are thankful or they'll be kicked out.
Public Works Supervisor resigns and moves to a better paying job in a City with leadership and support for the locals. Council thanks yet another employee for jumping off the sinking ship.

Administrative Assistant closes file.
A council election in the fall will surely solve all our problems. Not

Issue 4465951 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

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1 of 3 - I do appreciate your frustration, I was at the treatment plant on Friday and noticed the it was unusually smelly and spoke with the operators about all they are doing. Let me share some of what we’re working on now, and what we’re planning in the near future.

Last year we improved the operation of the plant with some aeration pipework and we were able to increase the efficiency of the aeration system by about 10%. We also started dosing with a solution that promotes healthy bacteria in August 2017. The results of these changes in operations showed immediate improvement to odour issues in late August 2017 despite continued heat. We weren’t sure we had fixed the problem, even though we were glad that the odour issue had ended, the ponds are a natural system that have many variables so it’s tough to know what changes might have made the difference. (But we still put $200,000 in the budget for 2018 aeration upgrades just in case, more on that later).

2 of 3 - That was last year, right now the operators are doing everything they can to make sure the treatment processes are working as well as possible. The first pond “turned over” with the heat last week, which even with a healthy pond will happen with the first real heat as it is a natural process where accumulated sludge from the winter months can rise to the surface. Things may or may not settle down after this, and that’s why we’re continuing to work on finding a long-term solution.

Right now, aeration is at full capacity, staff added additional bacteria last week, started dosing the system with a solution designed to support healthy bacteria, and are planning on adding a fertilizer solution which boosts the oxygen in the first pond. 

We have a couple of projects happening this year, starting with a review of the triggers for upgrading the plant, the process involved, and the possible costs of options. This is intended to provide some short-term direction associated with the Development Cost Charge (DCC) Bylaw looking at growth related sewer treatment infrastructure.

3 of 3 - Depending on the result of this study, and assuming a growth-related capacity increase is not an imminent requirement, the City has $200,000 earmarked for aeration upgrades in 2018 to improve the primary treatment components in the first pond. Staff have met with a consultant who works on lagoon treatment systems across North America, which confirmed that the existing aeration system is not working optimally, so if this project proceeds, it may have a dramatic improvement in treatment in the first pond. If the City proceeds with an aeration upgrade project, it will likely be in the fall of 2018.

Additionally, staff are working on a request for proposals for a consultant to assist with the process to upgrade the treatment plant to meet future capacity needs; this would be a large, multi-year project involving negotiations with the province, compliance with new regulatory standards and possibly the construction of a new treatment plant which could cost as much as $30 million if a mechanical treatment plant is chosen as the best option. Staff are also investigating options to expand the existing lagoons to increase capacity, which would be a more affordable solution (if this could be approved by the province).

Staff are also looking at further regulating the quality of sewer discharged from commercial and industrial properties to ensure discharges comply with the Sewer Regulation Bylaw requirements. Fat, oil and grease accumulation is a huge issue both in the operation of the sewer collection system, as well as a significant load on the City's sewer treatment plant.

Finally, this is not a simple problem with a simple solution. Staff and consultants are working on short-term and long-term solutions described above, and appreciate that these odours are a problem that needs to be fixed.

Issue 4476032 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

A comment was made on issue 4476032 about the "marking as duplicate". This is a simple way for City staff to make sure each issue is dealt with efficiently. Regardless of the number of times residents report an issue, there is only one of each specific issue. This is not intended to be rude or to detract from the seriousness of any issue, but allows staff to respond in one place with one message.

This issue also asked what the City is doing about the problem, I provided a brief description in three comments above, following the process of marking several complaints as duplicates.

Lastly, a question was asked why the "$70,000... for the Way Finding Strategy" is not being used to solve the sewer problem. The sewer function is a separate utility funded from sewer user fees only, not general taxes. For example, properties on septic systems in Columbia Park, Arrow Heights or the Big Eddy do not contribute to the cost of owning and operating a sewer collection and treatment system.

Changing status to "Acknowledged" within SeeClickFix.

Thank you for the explanation. I appreciate the prompt response this morning after the long weekend.

As a resident it's discouraging to witness that last summer's investment has not been the solution! Surely the Engineering department is also disappointed each time these relatively small, but still costly, fixes don't resolve the issue(s).

Although before my time, residents of Southside have apparently been asking for remediation for 20 years. And the Engineering department has engaged consultants, and/or performed repairs and upgrades multiple times with the intention of solving the issue.
https://www.revelstokereview.com/news/southside-sewage-stink-stirs-action/
https://www.bclocalnews.com/news/city-of-revelstoke-spending-another-120000-to-deal-with-sewer-smell/

In recent years we've seen many projects completed, and unfortunately overall, they seem to have been ineffective or overwhelmed by other detrimental factors such as growth and/or quality of incoming waste water. After years of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on Engineering projects, should we reconsider throwing good money after a bad system? It seems there is no silver bullet fix for our current biological system.

You mention that only residents connected to the system pay into it... With all due respect, perhaps the residents whose lifestyles and property values are so negatively affected by this malfunctioning system could also be excluded from the portion of our property taxes which contribute to the wastewater collection and treatment system? Of course, this is not an Engineering decision and is in fact counterproductive to a solution that is desperately needed and contingent on huge funding being available. But nonetheless, acknowledgement and real action from the City seems to have been lacking.

You make an excellent point that the eventual solution will one day require huge funding that will have to come from a variety of sources including provincial and/or federal governments. As a tax payer in this municipality I'd like to see that process started. It seems like Engineering knows what needs to be done and the ball should really be in the City's court to fund it!

I think the flood of complaints is part frustration and part hoping that the squeakier the wheel the sooner it gets greased. As far as "sewer user fees" being used to pay for the required upgrades, of course that makes sense, but the fact that some of those users (myself included) can't go outside or open their windows in the evening makes them (and me) wonder if maybe those people should get some kind of tax relief, or other benefit, for the on-going inconvenience!

Is there benefit to reporting the smell each night it's present? Maybe as documentation/ justification for future funding? Or as a long shot, to possibly identify correlation to factor(s) that cause or reduce the smell?

If so, this evening we are experiencing the smell, at least as far away as the Southside Market.

The Director of Engineer is correct when he says it is not a simple problem with a simple solution. We have to look to both the past and the future to understand why this is happening. Revelstoke has had a population of between 7 and 9 thousand people for many decades and all the while the sewer system functioned as it should. So what has changed?
Past councils with our current mayor graciously accepted the connection of the Resort lands into our sewer system. This occurred without public consultation or acknowledgement of the potential long term costs of such a large increase in the system. The resort is expected to increase the community to over 12,000 people. While we face these huge problems of a system that doesn't work we know that the few houses and condos on the hill aren't contributing financially to a degree that would provide for the future needs of a $35 million dollar upgrade. How did our past council in-debt us to such an irresponsible commitment? The Resort had a Master Plan that included building their own sewer treatment plant. They had a budget of $21 Million to build their own plant. Instead the council of the day allowed them to connect to our sewer system at a fraction of the cost to them but at a huge future cost to us.
Property owners along the sewer pipe route are forced to pay an annual frontage fee for the sewer pipe distance in front of the property whether they connect or stay on their septic system. Connection costs another $30 to $40,000. The problems are bigger than just the smell.
Why didn't the City get the total $21 Million the Resort had budgeted to build their sewer system so we would have the funds to build the now necessary $35 million dollar improvements?

Is it a coincidence that the sewer problems started at the same time as the pipe to the resort was built?
In the past there was such a thing as a real single family home. Now 10 - 12 seasonal residents occupy one house. This can only create huge imbalance on the system during the winter months. Vacation Rentals also substantially increase the loading as we all know when holidaying we play hard and we party hard. The system is forced to accept this loading while most of these Vacation Rentals and non- single family home use are not legal, and are not paying their fair share into the sewer utility.
When is council going to recognize that these issues are more than just an inconvenience in a single family neighborhood but also causing many other problems? Do we really believe that transient populations and Vacation rentals are concerned as to what they flush into our system?
Commercial accommodations be it motels, vacation rentals, or Resort condos have an over abundance of hot tubs. It stands to reason these are drained and filled frequently compared to a single family residence to meet the needs of the guests. We all know that bromine and chlorine are killers of the good bacteria that is suppose to keep our sewer working. What regulations are in place to control this discharge into our sewer? Where does the City pool water go when it is drained and re-filled?
New motels, subdivisions, and condo developments are springing up everywhere. While the City requires these developments to increase the size of the water and sewer piping to accommodate their connection what is being paid to address the increased load on the sewer? When will the City say we can't accept more development until the existing systems be they the roads, water system, or sewer system is capable of dealing with the current loading? See Click Fix - roads, roundabouts, traffic , pedestrians, etc.

Economic Development and Tourism Revelstoke just completed a 5 year plan ( Destination Tourism Strategy). Nowhere in this plan is there a recognition that the City is beyond its capacity to deal with the current traffic issues, the current need to improve roads, the need to replace old water lines, and the dysfunctional sewer system. In fact the Plan states that Priority #1 is " While tourism to Revelstoke continues to grow, the majority of the growth is confined to the peak seasons. We need to saturate our peaks so that visitors are more likely to come during the quieter months." What part of the current Public Works inability to function don't they get? All systems are failing and Public Works get budget restrictions every year while the fluff and consultants spend our tax dollars like drunken sailors.

The comment about the $70,000 Way Finding Strategy is a good example of when funds are thrown blindly at everything tourism while nothing goes into infrastructure. Let me guess we're going to get a whole bunch of new signs with a new color scheme. Maybe just getting rid of the red paint lines on all the heaved sidewalks would be a better color scheme. Maybe mowing and getting rid of all the weeds in town would be a better "Way Finding Strategy" . Our community is looking like hell with weeds growing on Vacation Rental properties, black window properties, streets, sidewalks, roadsides and with potholes everywhere.

Finding out who is loading the sewer system, who should pay their fair share, into the sewer utility, and who is causing the problems is a simple matter of acknowledging that most of the discharge into the system comes from the use of the water system. Meters are long overdue and once installed we will discover that it is the tourism industry that is putting huge demands upon not just our water system but also our sewer system. What does ever highway tourist do when fueling their vehicle? A Cup of Coffee and a flush of the toilet. This is at our water and sewer system costs. Does anyone believe that the volume of water and sewer input created by one gas station is proportional to the amount they pay for water and sewer utility? Do the tourism accommodations really pay their fair share based on volume? I think not. I think metering the water will reduce the costs of both the Sewer and Water utility to the single family home if it is charges at an equitable rate based on volume.

The problem is not a simple problem with a simple solution. The Director of Engineering needs to speak up to council about all the inequities of finance in this town, the need to put on the brakes on new development, the need to fund infrastructure, the need to make developers and commercial businesses pay their real fair share.
When the Director of Engineering and the Consultant hired to fix the smell look beyond the symptom and solve the real problem then the sewer will finally be fixed.

Residents should continue to report this on See Click Fix and continue to send e-mails to council.

Revel Stoke has become Revel Stink. Maybe the Way Finding Strategy should promote this new innovative way of finding and enjoying Revelstoke like we do.

Can the ponds be covered at least? Someone just pointed to this article on the Stoke List: https://www.waterworld.com/articles/print/volume-32/issue-6/features/odors-at-wastewater-treatment-plants.html

Without trying to sound like a broken record the aireation was changed in 1996 the problem started in 1997 and continues

Issue 4486762 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Issue 4490047 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

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Issue 4494671 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Thanks for taking time to write and to read the updates. I’ve noticing some misinformation in the community, including suggestions that we spent $100,000 on “super bacteria” in 2017, (which we didn’t); and the RMR's sewer truck is dumping septic waste into the system (which it isn't anymore now that the Mid-mountain lodge is connected directly to the system).

Over a couple of posts this morning, I’ll briefly touch on some of the new points made and questions asked above.

@Erin – Thanks for some thoughtful dialogue. I wouldn’t rule out the idea of expanding the lagoon system in the future or somehow repurposing the ponds. Mechanical plants (which there are a variety of technologies) are complex systems and are often about 3-6 times more expensive to run and up to 10 times more to build than lagoons. Operator qualification requirements are higher and we would need to find a low-cost solution to the biosolid disposal process that comes with the technology. This isn’t to say mechanical plants are bad, but we will have to acknowledge the cost of construction and ownership, and all of the impacts of a technology choice before you jump into a large project.

A current example is the City of Powell River, a community of about 13,000 people who recently announced that it was planning on designing and building a new sewer treatment plant. Earlier this year there was an article quoting a $30M pricetag - http://www.prpeak.com/news/city-of-powell-river-council-approves-wastewater-treatment-plant-1.23178715 , but now the estimate sits at $66M - http://www.prpeak.com/news/powell-river-council-chooses-design-for-wastewater-treatment-plant-1.23313524 .

These are huge numbers for a small community, and before we commit to spending tens of millions, we need to work out that balance point between what we want/need, what we can afford, and what technologies are available. This is the aim of the upgrade study we’ll be starting this year, which will include public input and engagement, as we work toward building a long-term plan, roadmap through the provincial approval process, and cost estimates.

In the short-term, City council approved the funding request for the $200k for aeration upgrades in 2018, which we are bringing a project to Council for approval shortly, and $70k to restart the treatment plant study, so I’d say that there is acknowledgement that this is a problem that needs to be solved.

Erin, providing ongoing reports of odours is not necessary as we do have utilities staff living in Southside and working there every day, the odour impacts that would be recorded may vary due to environmental conditions more than anything else. We know there’s a problem, our operators take pride in their jobs and skills and as you can imagine, they want this fixed as much as anyone else in Southside. But I do welcome further comments and suggestions here, because this is just part of a longer journey to an upgraded treatment plant in the future.

@Patti & @Erin – regarding funding for upgrades, I did forget to mention last week that through the current DCC bylaw review, we’re determining the Sewer Development Cost Charge value for new development based on an estimated construction cost of upgrades and expected development in the next ~20 years. We’re hoping to have a draft bylaw update for Council consideration in the next couple of months, and the treatment plant is both the highest dollar value and likely the most critical project (from a timing and community need perspective) to be funded through contributions from development projects. Keep your eyes open for updates on this project, as it should be of interest to all residents, but particularly those in Southside regarding the sewer treatment plant upgrades.

@Concerned Citizen – I’m not sure exactly when the decision was made to connect the resort to the City’s existing plant rather than build a satellite plant down by the airport as was shown in the 2003 Resort Master Plan, but RMR did construct a gravity main down Camozzi, Nichol and Airport Way as well as build the lift stations on Camozzi to the South of the resort, as well as the lift station by the 4th Street Bridge and the force main from there to the treatment plant (I believe this was funded by the resort). I’m sure it was a less costly option for the resort at the time. It's possible that if the 2008 global economic crisis hadn't happened, we may have seen more growth at the resort and an upgraded sewer treatment plant built sooner, instead, we are here today; hindsight is 20/20!

As an aside, we are trying to do a better job of assessing risks to infrastructure, including risks associated with growth projections, not meeting growth projections, and other external changes to our operating environment such as regulatory changes and climate change. An example project is the recently completed water supply risk assessment project that we'll be sharing at the next council meeting.

You raise some great points about the number of people per dwelling, the number of travellers passing through town, and the number of hotels, and that there is likely some inequality or cross-subsidy in who is paying for the service compared to who is using or benefiting from it - this is not an uncommon situation for a smaller local government to be in. Meters would help show how much water is being used, and we are requiring them to be installed in all new multi-family, commercial and industrial developments. We’re also working on a report that will recommend requiring the retrofitting of meters into existing larger water users. It's on our medium to longer term priorities list.

@KK – Thanks for sharing the article link, generally this solution is applicable to mechanical type plants where the footprint of open tanks is smaller. The two ponds at our treatment plant have a total area of about 6 acres, with the smaller one being 1.6 acres alone. Compare this to the arena and curling rink at just over 1 acre total and consider the size of the structure holding up the roof. Covering the ponds may introduce a whole raft of other issues.

Briefly, some thoughts:

- The pond temperatures would likely increase with solar gain and trapping the air inside.
- The equipment in the ponds requires maintenance, this would probably be a confined space hazardous area and could be difficult to manage employee safety.
- Any structure would have to be sulphur resistant, as H2S can be quite corrosive in higher concentrations.
- The gases trapped would need to be treated continuously. A scrubber system for this volume of airflow would likely be expensive. We are pumping a lot of air into the ponds for treatment purposes, all of this air would need to be treated once collected, otherwise the discharged air would still be a problem.
- The structure would have to be designed to resist snow loads.

As far as I'm aware, this is not a solution that has been recommended to the City by engineering consultants for our situation, it seems like it would be cost prohibitive.

Issue 4496916 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

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Issue 4493326 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

I have an idea, how about the city crack down on the 80% illegal suites to reduce the overloaded sewer system and make the suite owners actually help pay for these upgrades?