Dear WWIND,
WHO is best to ask the Challenging question? WHAT about the Cowichan Bay sewage outfall that is destroying Cowichan Bay sea life in the HERITAGE Cowichan River?
JUB (Joint Utility Board) Sewage Lagoons are located off Trunk / Tzouhalem / Marchmont Rd. Google – Marchmont Rd, Duncan to see the Sewage Lagoons location. The sewage outfall has been contaminating Cowichan Bay Shellfish for decades.
JUB treatment plant is a hybrid secondary/tertiary treatment plant located on the Cowichan River that treats wastewater from North Cowichan, Duncan, Cowichan Bay, Eagle Heights, and Cowichan Tribes land near Duncan and is operated by North Cowichan. The sewage is discharged at Cowichan Bay. For more information see the Outfall Relocation Project.
The treatment plant is on land leased from Cowichan Tribes. The lease agreement includes a commitment to make a reasonable effort to move the outfall from the Cowichan River. During periods of very low river flow, there is not enough flow to provide the desired amount of effluent dilution. North Cowichan and the CVRD state that low river flows are expected to become more frequent in the future, where is the urgency to come up with real solutions seen all over the rest of the world? Additionally; the existing outfall infrastructure is at risk of damage from log jams and gravel accumulation. Upgrades are required.
BY moving the outfall from the river location creating a healthy bay, there may then be space to reassess shellfish harvesting in Cowichan Bay. Contact: JUB@northcowichan.ca .
MNC (250) 746 3103
Concerned citizen, Joyce Behnsen
