City of Penticton to explore options for wastewater solids disposal

PENTICTON – Changes may be in the works for the way Penticton handles its wastewater solids.

An aging composting facility that no longer meets current regulations is the main reason behind a request for proposals to be issued by the city’s public works department to review the existing treatment method and identify potential workable alternatives for the next two decades.

A report coming before city council tomorrow, April 16, proposes to hire an engineering consulting firm for $125,000 to look at the city’s present operation, outline some feasible options and prepare a shortlist of a minimum of three of the most viable options for a report to council.

The city has been operating a composting facility at the Campbell Mountain Landfill where it brings solid waste from the city’s wastewater treatment plant five days a week. The solid waste is mixed with a blend of organic and dimensional lumber and lumber waste, composted, screened and sold locally as a soil conditioner or supplement.

Public Works manager Len Robson noted the city’s current process is out of date and no longer meets current regulations. The cost of updating is significant resulting in a need to explore other options.

Robson said in the report those options may involve a change in location for the site, or could possibly involve the inclusion of organic waste, lately a topic of regional concern.

It is expected the review will either result in the upgrading of the city’s present process, or work out a new method for managing wastewater solids.

The city has $2.5 million set aside in the 2019 budget to address the wastewater solids process.

A public information and consultation process will be conducted in three phases beginning in May and June of this year.

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