Senator shares his story
'I always knew I had a story to tell,' Nick Sibbeston says of recent book
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, December 3, 2015
DEH CHO
On Nov. 19 and 20, partially treated sewage from Fort Simpson's wastewater treatment plant was released into the Mackenzie River.
NWT Senator Nick Sibbeston was in Fort Simpson on Nov. 21 for Thomas Simpson School's annual bazaar to discuss his autobiography. - April Hudson/NNSL photo
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Sewage was released for more than 12 hours between 8:32 p.m. on Nov. 19 and an undisclosed time on Nov. 20. As of Dec. 1, the village could not provide an estimate of how much sewage had spilled, according to Beth Jumbo, the village's senior administrative officer.
A Nov. 20 spill report issued to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources refers to the spill as "raw sewage" and lists "pathogenic wastewater" under a section detailing hazards to persons, property or environment.
Specific details about the spill, including the volume released into the Mackenzie River last month, will be shared with the public as part of a second, more detailed, spill report, she added.
That report was completed earlier this week but was not made public as of the afternoon of Dec. 2.
Jumbo said the sewage had been partially treated at the time of the overflow.
In a Nov. 27 news release, Jumbo stated the spill occurred after a local contractor severed a one-and-one-quarter-inch water service line near the Environment and Natural Resources compound, causing "a substantial leak of potable water."
That leak of potable water flowed into the sewer system, which flooded.
Excess flow was directed to the wastewater treatment plant, eventually causing it to back up and overflow.
In a special meeting with village council on Nov. 25, Jumbo said internal problems within the municipal organization prevented the spill from being addressed sooner.
While the water line was severed at 4 p.m. on Nov. 19, the foreman was not notified until 4:30. Compounding the issue, the operator for the wastewater treatment plant was not notified for an additional hour after that.
"At 5:30 p.m., (the operator) went to the plant and it was filling up with a lot of wastewater from the distribution system," Jumbo said.
"The plant had to operate at a faster level than normal, which it can't do (because) there are different kinds of stages it has to go through before it's treated water."
Jumbo cited a miscommunication between municipal departments in dealing with the emergency, and said she wants to form an internal policy for future situations.
"I've talked to the personnel and we've decided every time something happens, neither of the supervisors leave until everyone knows exactly what's going on," she said.
"One of the things we have to get clear with employees and the village as a whole (is), this is emergent, this is not left alone and has to be fixed immediately."
The village may be facing fines from Environment Canada for the spill, although further information on that was not available at press time.
While the private contractor is responsible to pay for repairs to the water line, Jumbo said the village will bear the brunt of any fines since village employees did not stay on site until the issue was fixed.
The village has a spill contingency plan under its water licence with the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board.
That plan includes the waste water treatment plant and came into effect on March 31. It outlines response actions for potential spills and details spill response procedures.
