Proper sewage treatment

B.C. needs to move to a minimum of secondary treatment of all municipal sewage. This has been accomplished in the United States and there is no reason why we continue to allow primary treatment or raw sewage dumping. Funds are needed from all three levels of government to make this possible. Ultimately, we should be moving to tertiary treatment where most harmful chemicals are removed and the resources in the sewage are captured for beneficial reuse. Some advanced treatment systems are able to remove all harmful substances using solar aquatics or constructed wetlands.

Source control

The best way to eliminate toxins entering our waterways is to stop them at their source. Some municipalities have source control bylaws, others don't. Even where such bylaws do exist, they still allow certain volumes of toxins to enter the sewage system.

The most toxic chemicals should simply be banned from industrial use. Other toxins should be removed through treatment facilities on site, putting the financial burden on the industries that create the problem.

Households also dump considerable toxic wastewater into the sewage system, with little or no treatment. These include paint, oils, pesticides, solvents and a host of cleaning products. Curbside collection of hazardous products on special collection days would help. But the easiest solution is for people to take responsibility for a cleaner environment by using less toxic alternatives and not dumping toxins down the drain.

Stormdrains

Hundreds of stormdrains empty directly into salmon streams. Industries and individuals can help a lot by stopping the dumping of any hazardous substance down local stormdrains. Stormdrains should be fitted with a sediment filter when road work or building construction takes place.