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Apr 23,2008 - Tri City News

Garbage isn’t the only waste that’s increasingly seen as a potential resource.

So, too, is sewage.

Metro Vancouver already processes sewage sludge into a nutrient-rich compost. And biogas given off at the Iona and Annacis Island sewage treatment plants is burned for heat and electricity at those sites.

But officials think much more can be done.

Warmth given off by sewage as it flows through pipes can be harnessed in district heating systems — something that has been done already in parts of Europe and is now planned by Vancouver for the southeast False Creek area.

Grease and fats in sewage could also be skimmed, blended with other separated grease from restaurants and businesses and processed into biodiesel to power vehicles. Any heat, gas or electricity recovered from sewage or waste is considered to be beneficial because it offsets the use of non-renewable fossil fuels.

While they may generate future revenue, innovative recovery projects are also expected to be costly.

But the biggest costs facing the sewer system are planned upgrades of two sewage treatment plants that are significant ocean polluters.

Metro has so far set 2020 as its target date to upgrade the Iona sewage treatment plant off Vancouver to secondary treatment to improve the discharge of effluent to Georgia Strait. The North Shore’s Lions Gate plant, which discharges into Burrard Inlet, would wait until 2030 for the upgrade.

Officials project the costs of running the sewer system to climb from a current $160 million per year to nearly $400 million by 2030 as a result of the upgrades.

Metro is also contemplating switching the priorities so the North Shore plant would be upgraded first.

Another option for public comment is to upgrade both plants by 2020 — that would push annual sewer costs up by approximately $100 million per year over the next two decades.

jnagel@blackpress.ca

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