Melt causes city sewers to overflow into Ottawa River
Posted Feb 22, 2011 02:19:13 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Thousands of litres of sewage flowed into Ottawa River last week when temperatures rose into the double digits.
The thaw and melt on Thursday and Friday caused 200,000 litres of effluent to spill into the river from the city’s sewers when rain fell and the mercury hit 11 degrees.
It was the first significant overflow recorded by the city this year.
Ottawa’s combined sewers collect both sanitary waste water and storm water. Weather events like rain or significant snow melt can cause the pipes to overflow and there’s only one place for the liquid to go- the river.
Last year 891 million litres of sewer overflow went into the river.
The city says it plans to install massive tanks underground to catch the overflow.
