Mission —Public Works staff are in day two of cleaning up a sewage spill that took place Friday morning on the construction site of the new forcemain crossing. Initial clean-up is expected to complete Saturday (May 21), with further assessment to take place afterward to ensure the site is free of contamination. The spill happened after an emergency switchover was required due to a pump station electrical issue that resulted after the storm on May 19. Staff have been working according to the City’s Emergency Response Plan to address all issues related to this spill.
So, What Happened:
According to the city media release: Public Works staff were notified at 6:46am Friday, May 20 of a sewage spill at the construction site for the new forcemain crossing. Staff were on site at 7:00am and the spillage was stopped at 7:15am. It is estimated that 2500m3 of sewage was spilled on the lands within the berms of the construction site.
There is no evidence at this time of sewage entering the Fraser River.
An environmental professional was on site to assess the situation. For the remainder of the day hydrovac trucks cleared the material and hauled it to the Lougheed pump station for disposal at the JAMES Plant. It is expected that the material will be cleared on Saturday, May 21.
The spillage occurred due to a valve that was mistakenly left open during a switchover. This emergency switchover was required due to a pump station electrical issue that resulted from damage during a storm on the evening of Thursday, May 19. This damage lead to a PLC failure at the Harbour pump station, which is still out of commission at this time.
After the initial clean-up is completed Saturday, May 21, a full assessment will take place to ensure the site is free of any contamination.
