Untreated sewage spilled into ocean from Richmond treatment plant Thursday
Metro Vancouver says raw wastewater flowed for three hours after rocky debris blocked screening equipment. No public health impact expected.
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Raw, untreated wastewater flowed into the ocean from the Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Richmond for roughly three hours Thursday afternoon after a large volume of rocky debris blocked treatment screening equipment around 2:40 p.m.
Metro Vancouver says operations crews immediately deployed to clear the blockage and restore normal operations. The wastewater diversion ended shortly after 6 p.m., and as of Friday morning, three of the plant's six damaged screens have been fully repaired — what's needed for normal operations to resume.
The deep-sea outfall pipe extends about seven kilometres into the ocean, bypassing Iona Beach and Musqueam First Nation along the coast. Metro Vancouver's initial assessment found no expected public health impact, though the analysis is based on early modelling and could change. Environmental modelling suggests an incident of this short duration is not expected to significantly affect aquatic life in the Strait of Georgia.
Metro Vancouver has not yet determined how much wastewater was released. A spokesperson for the Greater Vancouver Regional District Employees' Union estimated the volume at hundreds of millions of litres, though the exact amount remains under investigation. Regular summer beach monitoring is continuing.
