Wineries in West sa国际传媒 that don鈥檛 properly pre-treat their sewage discharge will soon face dramatically higher financial penalties.听
Maximum daily fines will rise from $1,000 per day to $3,000 per day with a cap of $50,000, city councillors heard this week.听
sa国际传媒 30 businesses, many of them wineries, aren鈥檛 doing the required pre-treatment of production water before itsa国际传媒 sent into the sewer system, regional district officials say.听
鈥淧re-treatment systems are very cut and dried and they鈥檙e required under our bylaws,鈥 regional engineering director Travis Kendal told councillors.听
Ongoing efforts to inform and educate winery operators about their pre-treatment responsibilities haven鈥檛 had the desired result, he said, so the regional district will soon be increasing the fines for violations.听
鈥淭he last arrow in our quiver is to start issuing fines,鈥 Kendal said. 鈥淲e are coming back this summer. Nobody will be surprised if they get a fine. They know what they have to do. They know we鈥檙e coming.鈥
Excessively high levels of organic material in the wastewater stream taxes the capacity and operating abilities of the treatment plant, councillors heard. If the problem with 鈥渙ver-strength鈥 wastewater isn鈥檛 curbed, the plant could require costly upgrades before its scheduled expansion in 2032.听
Councillors agreed higher fines are necessary.听
鈥淭he fines have to be large enough so itsa国际传媒 not just a cost of doing business,鈥 said Coun. Rick De Jong.听
鈥淚tsa国际传媒 disappointing to hear that there are businesses in our community that aren鈥檛 complying,鈥 said Coun. Tasha Da Silva.听
鈥淚 trust this presentation will help reinforce or add to the education you鈥檝e already undertaken,鈥 said Mayor Gord Milsom. 鈥淚 encourage the non-compliant users to take action, otherwise theresa国际传媒 a very good possibility they鈥檒l be facing financial penalties in the months to come.鈥
One sign many wineries weren't doing the necessary pre-treatment of their discharged water came when treatment plant staff noticed the effluent smelled like "yeast and alcohol", Kendall said.听
Sewage workers know where the over-strength flows are coming from because of routine testing thatsa国际传媒 done at various locations in the sewer system, council heard.听
Along with wineries, businesses that are required to pre-treat water before discharging it into the sewer system include breweries, restaurants, car washes, and laboratories, council heard.听
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