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Sewage tank sited near GE Bridge in Maple Ridge

Part of Metro plans to upgrade treatment system
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A new 22,000-cubic-metre sewage tank is being planned for the Maple Ridge side of the Golden Ears Bridge.

Officials from Metro Vancouver appeared before Maple Ridge council earlier this month to discuss the tank as part of a larger, long-term sewage treatment project.

The Katzie Pump Station, which is located near the junction of Golden Ears Way and 113B Avenue, pumps sewage from Maple Ridge through approximately 25 kilometres of pipe to the Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant.

After working with a consultant to find efficiencies in operating the sewer system, Metro has opted to rebuild the Northwest Langley Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is located near the south side of the Golden Ears Bridge.

Metro would build a holding tank beside the Katzie Pump Station, and a pipe across the river. Then, all sewage from Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows would be diverted to the upgraded treatment plant.

Metro’s Paul Wilting told council the project will save Metro $265 million over 15 years in operating costs, and will improve the quality of water the system releases back into the Fraser River.

The storage tank would be completely enclosed, with odor control measures.

It would contain more than twice the amount of liquid of all the tanks at the Vancouver Aquarium.

Wilting said it would appear from the outside as a two-storey industrial building, similar to others in the nearby industrial park.

“They can do different things architecturally, so you don’t just have a concrete box,” said David Pollock, Maple Ridge municipal engineer.

The tank design is due in September, construction could start by February 2019, and completion scheduled for August 2021.

The treatment plant upgrades in Langley would be completed by 2026.

Councillors asked Wilting whether the tank facilities could be taxed by the city, and what incentives there are for Maple Ridge to support the project.

Staff answered that it will effectively increase the capacity of the city’s sewage system. There are approximately 350 km of sewer line in Maple Ridge, and the system is “taxed to the max.” So the new infrastructure from Metro would allow for future growth.

It cannot be taxed by the city.

Metro staff will consult the public, and have identified key groups as Hammond residents, businesses in the Maple Meadows Business Park, members of the Katzie First Nation and the group Friends of the Katzie Slough.



Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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