Update: Latest response to odour at Regional Sewer Treatment Plant in New Minas
The Municipality of the County of Kings and Regional Sewer Partners wish to update the community on the latest steps taken to resolve the odour at the Regional Sewer Treatment Plant in New Minas.
“Municipal Council, municipal staff and Regional Sewer Partners understand the community’s concern and we take every call for action seriously. We are committed to resolving this as soon as possible for
the community, as this is very stressful for all concerned, ” said Municipality of the County of Kings Mayor Dave Corkum.
“When we say addressing the odour is a top priority, we mean we want that Treatment Plant smelling better the second we can make it happen. We’re all in on this issue, and we will work at this until we get
the results the community deserves.”
Municipal staff are working with engineering experts to make the lagoons healthier and, in turn, improve the biological plant’s odour management systems and overall performance.
Advice guiding immediate actions:
• Consulting engineers have advised the cause is a lack of oxygen in the lagoons.
• Healthy biological treatment plants need dissolved oxygen in the lagoons.
• Prioritize changes that will increase air supply to the lagoons to reduce the odour.
Recent and ongoing improvements:
• New high-efficiency blowers installed: Two new high-efficiency blowers were installed over the weekend of May 31 to June 1.
• Air supply improvements: A fourth mechanical blower was commissioned to increase air supply in the last two weeks. Piping that once served multiple lagoons is being reconfigured to maximize the air supply to Lagoons 1 and 2.
The changes include creating separate air
distribution systems and backup air sources for each lagoon to improve overall
performance.
• Air blowers tuned to increase oxygen levels: The air blowers for Lagoons 3, 4, and 5 were recently tuned and air output has been increased by 70%, resulting in increasing dissolved oxygen levels of those systems.
• New oxygen-supporting compound on site: A new, oxygen-promoting chemical compound is being added to the lagoons this week to increase dissolved oxygen levels.
• System enhancements: Mobile pumps have been used to transfer water from the healthier lagoons into Lagoon 1 and 2. Portable lagoon master aerators are running to introduce more air into the system.
Future measures:
The Municipality and its partners are also committing to long-term improvements, including:
• Installing composite samplers at major institutional and industrial users to gain a better understanding of what is coming into the Plant – and when
• Improved monitoring of pH levels and influent load (the amount of material coming in)
• More operational sampling and analysis to track plant performance
• An in-depth engineering study examining the current and future needs of the entire
treatment system is underway
For more information about the bullet points above, please refer to this Regional Sewer Update presented to Municipal Council June 3. Regional Partners sincerely apologize for the odour and remain committed to getting it under control as soon as possible.
The Regional Sewer System services most residences and businesses between Greenwich and Coldbrook. It is funded under partnership agreements between the Municipality, Village of New Minas, Town of Kentville, and Pepsico.
Updates are being posted to www.countyofkings.ca/regionalsewerupdates
