(Newswire.net — July 18th, 2013) Vancouver, BC — In the city of Vancouver drainage has become an issue regarding who pays for the sewer separation upgrade.
Property owners in Vancouver BC are being forced to pay for upgrading private sewer lines to the city connection when sewer crews are working in the area. Notifications are being sent by mail to local neighborhoods and homeowners must to be prepared to meet the upgrade on time.
The original infrastructure was built using one pipe for both water runoff and waste. In heavy rains higher volumes of water exceed the capacity of the system and untreated waste flows in the waterways causing problems.
Benefits of the program include the following:
- It eliminates combined sewer overflow
- The increased capacity will prevent flooding
- Clean storm water can become a helpful resource
City Responsibility
The sewer mains infrastructure is being upgraded to accommodate rainwater and waste separately. This new system will have more capacity and be able to use clean rain water for other purposes. Waste will be carried to treatment plants without the overspill now happening in heavy down pours.
Property Owners Responsibility
A similar program is underway on private property. Properties affected will have one of more of the following conditions.
1. Sewer lines have been blocked previously, and the city paid for some or all of the cost
2. Indications that the city managed program is no longer effective
3. Property owners have upgraded their private sewer lines and find that the city connection is in poor condition
Sewer Separation Nation Wide
If you look online you will find sewer separation programs being implemented North America wide. We are actually fortunate to have the leaders who have the foresight to implement such programs and the public funds to carry these programs out.
Third world countries have crumbling sewer systems they are unable to upgrade mainly for financial reasons. Some of the worst examples of this can be found in the Philippines.
Quote from Wikipedia. “The challenges include limited access to sanitation and in particular to sewers; high pollution of water resources; often poor drinking water quality and poor service quality; a fragmentation of executive functions at the national level among numerous agencies; and a fragmentation of service provision at the local level into many small service providers”
If you have already received a notice contact us for service:
Vancouver, BC
V5M 3E4