A significant amount of oil and chemicals found in the Greater Moncton sewer system has prompted a reminder to be cautious of what goes down the drain.
TransAqua employees noticed oil on top of primary clarifiers and a “harsh” acetone smell during inspections on August 17, said General Manager Kevin Rice.
“My assumption is they come from a mechanics garage. Now generally, those mechanics garages would have oil-water separators and would also have to dispose of parts washer fluids at an approved facility,” he said.
According to Rice, the presence of oil and chemicals in the sewer system is common in many municipalities and occurs in Greater Moncton every two to three months.
However, these occurrences can be detrimental to the bacteria used in the systems bioreactor. Once evaluated under a microscope, TransAqua noticed bacteria had died or slowed down.
“In order for it to operate properly you really cannot dump oil or chemicals into the sewer system,” Rice said.
The wastewater treatment process has undergone a $90.4 million upgrade that now features a secondary biological treatment process that provides a much cleaner effluent going into the Petitcodiac River.
Cleaning the oil and chemicals required a vacuum truck that transports the pollutants to an approved facility at a high cost. The overall process of removing these pollutants can be costly given their frequent occurrences.
“The amount of electricity used to put an additional blower on for a week could be in the order of 10 to 12 thousand dollars,” Rice said about the cost.
To prevent these incidents, the TransAqua General Manager said Metro Moncton residents should spend time reviewing the sewer Do’s and Don’t’s.
“There only should be the three P’s in the sewer system, the pee, the poo and the toilet paper.”
