Concerns over the coming sewage treatment plant are "bubbling up." That's how Wayne Shillington with the James Bay Neighbourhood Association described Thursday night's meeting of Victoria residents concerned with sewage treatment plans.
He says about 150 people packed into the Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel to ask questions and voice frustrations. Many of the residents there were from James Bay and Vic West, two of the Victoria neighbourhoods closest to the sewage site across the harbor in Esquimalt.
Shillington says many people are worried that promises made along the way are being broken. "It's the promise of odour free, and given the location absolutely it should be odourless. The recent standard that was stated by the construction supervisor is that it will be an odour standard of ‘5 odour units.’ So what does that mean? Well, it's a scale measured to 10. People are saying 'well, 5 doesn't sound odourless to me.' And, some of the references to odourlessness have disappeared from their website."
Shillington says most people accept the current sewage treatment plan, but they want to make sure issues such as smell are addressed.
Other concerns included construction noise and erosion at the Dallas Road cliffs, "there are people who say if you start digging along there in any serious way you're going to accelerate the already challenging issue of the deterioration of the bluffs." Shillington is referring to part of the project that will see a sewage pipe installed under Dallas Road, connecting Clover Point and McLoughlin Point across the harbour.
The CRD has organized two information sessions to address questions, happening April 5th and April 12.