The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke is pleased to announce the successful completion of maintenance on the Degritter system at the sewage treatment plant this morning.
The maintenance involved temporarily shutting down and draining the lift stations, while retaining sewage at the lift station reservoirs until it became necessary to discharge some of it into the river. The bypass occurred from 7:56am to 9:15am, during which 500m³ of water was discharged into the River. Though the water discharged was untreated, it consisted mainly of greywater—collected from showers, sinks, dishwashers, laundry, as well as rainwater and melting snow.
“Today’s successful sewage maintenance operation demonstrates our commitment to maintaining the integrity of Kahnawà:ke’s infrastructure,” said Ratsénhaienhs Arnold Boyer, lead on Infrastructure, Transport & Operations. “We also want to extend our thanks to community members who reduced their water usage this morning. Your cooperation allowed us to complete this essential task with minimal environmental impact.”
“By timing this essential work during the winter months, we minimized potential damage to fish habitats and vegetation, while avoiding impacts on fish spawning,” said Timothy Law, General Manager of Environment Protection. “Also ensuring that the discharge is pumped into the River, not into the Bay helped minimize the environmental impact. Screens were also installed where the discharge is pumped, to prevent solid debris from entering the River.”
For more details on the sewage bypass or to view a video about the operation, please visit our official Facebook page.
