Liquid Waste Management Plan

The City of Port Alberni (City) provides a centralized wastewater treatment service for over 18,000 residents. The City uses a lagoon wastewater treatment system that has been in place since the 1950’s under permit from the Ministry of Environment. Municipal sewage treatment is subject to regulations and standards set by the provincial and federal governments. In recent years, the City’s lagoon system has been unable to meet new regulatory requirements for the discharge of treated wastewater.

Liquid Waste Management Plan

The planned upgrade to the sewage treatment facility is part of a larger process set out by the province for communities across BC to establish comprehensive, long term strategies for dealing with all aspects of liquid waste. The three-stage planning process, known as a liquid waste management plan (LWMP), is a guidance document that details each community’s solutions for managing wastewater. The final document is approved by City Council and the BC Minister of Environment and enables a community develop a holistic approach to monitoring and managing the community’s wastewater.

There are three stages to the LWMP process:

Stage 1: Define problems and identify options related to liquid waste in a community, including collection, treatment, discharge and reuse. In this stage the objective is to identify all the issues and possible alternatives.

Stage 2: Develop and Evaluate Preferred Options. The evaluation is able to consider multiple objectives such as technical complexity and capital and operating costs.

Stage 3: Document and Adopt the Plan

The City of Port Alberni is currently undertaking a Combined Stages 2/3 LWMP.

Consulting on the LWMP

Public and First Nations engagement is a key component to receiving plan approval. From June 19 - July 5, 2020, the City hosted a virtual consultation program to help guide the development of the LWMP. The consultation program was designed to update the public on the current progress of the LWMP components, bring further awareness of the LWMP process, and allow an opportunity for citizens to engage in how their wastewater is managed.

For more on the City's Wastewater Treatment Plan Upgrades and development of the LWMP, go to www.letsconnectpa.ca/WWTP.