ANTIGONISH – As summer starts to sizzle here, an unwanted visitor from recent years has returned.
During a special council meeting on July 9, it was confirmed that Town of Antigonish officials had been receiving reports over the previous few days that an odour emanating from its sewage treatment plant (STP) was being detected.
“It is literally a moving target,” CAO Randy Delorey said of detecting the smell, adding that it has been “confirmed it is outside,” coming from the STP’s lagoon.
Delorey provided a review of the measures that have been taken over the past couple of years – some ongoing – to deal with the situation, including the effort to pump as much oxygen into the system as possible, which is a key to helping lower the temperature of the water; the warmer the water, the more likely the odour will occur and be stronger.
“It boils down to oxygen levels,” he said, echoing the findings of an engineer’s report the town commissioned a couple of years ago.
He added that there is a “variable that we can’t control directly” – the weather, particularly the continuing increase in air temperatures, which contributes to the decrease in oxygenation and, as a result, an increase in the potential for a return of the odour on a more prominent scale.
Noting that the lagoon naturally produces an odour, Delorey explained that – although the smell was at its “most intense” in 2024, and returned last summer – the issue had been building up for five or six years.
“Obviously, it has been a growing problem,” Coun. Leon MacLellan offered, noting he started noticing a smell “post-COVID” during his walks along Antigonish Landing a couple of years earlier.
Coun. Jack Sullivan stressed the importance of continuing to deliver the message to residents about what they should – and shouldn’t – flush down the toilet. Non-organic matter that ends up in the lagoon clogs the system and affects its efficiency. Delorey noted that staff had moved ahead with the veteran councillor’s suggestion – one supported by his colleagues – to get the word out to residents via mail, with an insert having been included in recent utility bills about what should be flushed.
Mayor Sean Cameron restated his suggestion, as a measure to help deal with preventing the smell – that the town consider adding another well that can provide cold water directly to the system to help speed up the needed cooling process.
Later in the meeting, noting she – like her colleagues – are once again hearing complaints about the smell, Coun. Diane Roberts asked what the answer should be to residents regarding the situation. Delorey suggested they need to be reassured that the town understands the smell has returned, while pointing out one of the causes is “temperature driven,” and explaining the engineer’s report indicates higher temperatures worsen the odour. He added the value of reminding people that the town has gone “above and beyond,” when it comes to taking steps recommended by the experts to deal with the smell.
Coun. Patrick McKenna offered the idea of explaining the situation to residents a “multi-year fix,” one that is being carried out, as opposed to pinning it on climate change.
As part of a series of questions posed by The Journal, town officials were asked if the foul odour is unavoidable, considering the role of increasing summer temperatures in causing the problem.
Referencing the 2024 CBCL engineer’s report, Delorey explained, “As the water temperatures in the STP lagoon increase the efficiency of oxygen transfer decreases, which results in lower oxygen levels and increased risk of odour. The steps taken are multifaceted with efforts to reduce the temperature of the lagoon – fresh water being added when available and not in water conservation state and the recirculation of cooler water from the back end of the lagoon which contains more oxygen – and increase airflow to offset the less efficient oxygen transfer in warmer weather – this relates to efforts to minimize blockages of aerators and the installation of higher capacity aerators and additional air blowers to feed them.”
Delorey reiterated that over the past two years every recommendation from the engineers has been implemented, while noting additional aerators will be installed in early August. “Once those higher capacity units are installed, in combination with an additional air-blower rented for the summer, the aeration capacity of the STP in the front section will have tripled from 2024, when the odour was most acute.”
During the special council meeting, Mayor Cameron stressed the need to continue to explore options, such as putting a dome over the lagoon, the shading aimed at keeping the water as cool as possible.
“We are getting frustrated,” he said, while stating how the town understands and sympathizes with what people are going through, especially the neighbouring properties near the STP.
Cameron stressed that, despite the odour’s return, the “plant is working” and carrying out its job when it comes to sewage treatment.
In a press release issued Monday afternoon, the town announced it had awarded the tender for screening and aeration upgrades to the STP’s front end to Avondale Construction for $6,282,365, plus HST, an amount cost-shared with the Municipality of the County of Antigonish and the province.
The town announcement from July 13 explained that the screening upgrades “will help improve the efficiency of the STP by not allowing materials that should not be flushed into the lagoon. These non-biodegradable materials block aerators and reduce oxygen in the lagoon.”
It added, “This project also includes two new high-capacity blowers that increase airflow to the aerators, which combined with less blockage will help maintain higher oxygen levels to improve the natural treatment process in the warmer months. With higher oxygen levels, the plant produces less odour.”
In response to a follow-up question from The Journal, Delorey indicated that the project “will be initially funded through municipal capital borrowing, paid back over the expected life of the equipment.”
He explained that this project “will add a building with screener equipment and additional blowers to minimize the inorganic materials from entering the lagoon and blocking aerators while also increasing the air available to be delivered through the new aerators installed in the lagoon. In combination, these enhancements are designed to maximize the oxygen levels in the lagoon and minimize odour coming from it during the warmer weather.”
For more information about the project, which is expected to take one year to complete, visit https://www.townofantigonish.ca/sewer.html.
AT trail tender awarded
Council also recently approved awarding the tender for the second phase of the town’s active transportation (AT) trail – a contract valued at $834,846, plus HST, to B.D. Clifton Contracting Limited.
This phase, as outlined in a July 6 press release, includes adding an asphalt path and replacing the existing sidewalk to enable improved mobility. It will connect with the existing AT trail on West St., along St. Ninian St. and ending at Church St.
Last month, during a June 16 council meeting, with word that the lowest of three bids submitted for the town’s STP exceeded the issued quote in the tender package by $2.23 million, it was suggested that the monies earmarked for the second phase of the AT project could be diverted to the STP effort.
With that option under consideration, council discussed if the town decided not to move forward with the AT trail initiative, would the $1.2 million already received for the project have to be repaid to the provincial and federal governments. Although it is spelled out in the multi-level agreement, council decided to direct Mayor Cameron to connect with his elected counterparts at the provincial and federal levels to find out what measures would be taken, if any, to recouple those monies if the town decided to shelve the project.
Because the deadline to award or deny the tender bids was approaching, council gave Mayor Cameron a two-week deadline to get answers.
“No response was received by the Town when the two-week period passed, so the Town proceeded with awarding the tender, consistent with the motion of Council,” CAO Delorey told The Journal.
An overview of the four-phase AT initiative is available at: https://townofantigonish.ca/active-transportation-trail.html.
Water update
During the July 9 special meeting, Delorey provided an update on the process of tapping into new water sources to serve its residents and others customers, which include those in the so-called fringe area of the Municipality of the County of Antigonish.
He reiterated that the past couple of years, which have included the need for conservation measures to be taken to deal with drought-like conditions, have reinforced “the need to expand our water capacity.”
During the test well drilling process carried out in recent months, they tapped into a pair of potential sources.
With the land purchase process in the works, Delorey estimated that a production well could be finished in September.
Nevertheless, he cautioned, that doesn’t mean a new water source is in the immediate future, explaining that “significant work” remains when it comes to connecting any production well to the town’s system.
As part of the discussion, Deputy Mayor Andrew Murray asked about the status of capacity at the James River Dam. Delorey indicated, as of that time, it is “still spilling,” but the rate is slowing down. He also noted that town staff is “really monitoring” the situation, offering they were hopeful that the forecast of rain over the following week or so would come to fruition.
“I saw someone with a hose cleaning off cement,” Coun. Diane Roberts said, offering an example of her frustration with how some residents are not paying attention to the importance of conservation, even when measures – voluntary or mandatory – are not in effect. She stressed that the town needs to continue to get the message out about taking preventative rather than reactive measures.
Roberts also asked about the status of the town’s rain barrel program launched earlier this year, which offered $50 rebate for residents who made such a purchase for their households. More than 30 applications have been processed.
Delorey cautioned council about hammering home the conservation message “too aggressively” because it can lead people to “start hoarding” water, which can have a counter-effect over the short term.
Coun. Juanita Pelly noted that she had received complaints from residents arriving to the splash park at Columbus Field, only to find it was out of service. The delay getting the word out to the community, more than three weeks, served as another example of how the town needs to improve in the area of communications, Coun. McKenna offered.
“It worked ... it is really encouraging,” Murray said, in providing an example of the effectiveness of getting the word out when it came to helping decrease the incidents of riders leaving their rented scooters in the middle of sidewalks and other areas that were affecting accessibility.
Group presentations
To help deal with a backlog of such requests, council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, July 21, which will deal exclusively with community group presentations.
Council has discussed having this type of special meeting moving forward to help deal with regular monthly sessions that have become too lengthy.
