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Federal Green Party leader, Elizabeth May gets a guided perimeter tour of Sechelt’s wastewater treatment facility from Sechelt Mayor, John Henderson and Project Coordinator, Paul R. Nash. May was in town for a nomination meeting for the riding of West Vancouver–Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country. Photo Apryl Veld
Federal Green Party leader, Elizabeth May took a guided perimeter tour of the Sechelt Water Resource Centre and wastewater treatment plant in Sechelt last Wednesday.
“This is fantastic,” the green politician declared during a tour led by Project Coordinator, Paul R. Nash, of the facility. The tour’s co-host, Mayor John Henderson explained how the District had reached capacity with the old plant and knew they wanted a greener alternative for future infrastructure.
“The big thing was deciding to do it,” Henderson noted, citing a lot of pressures including population growth required a bigger capacity plant.
He noted getting funding from various levels of government and seeking consent from public to build in a residential area, “This should not devalue properties,” Henderson said, “because we set vigorous odour and noise standards for the plant.”
May appeared impressed by the $25 million project which features a number of conservation features including power efficiency, water re-use and bio-solids recovery, possibly for agriculture. “I can’t wait to come back and see it when it’s done,” said May, adding, “you need to come to Victoria, (a city of 80,000 which still pumps raw, screened sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca.)
The plant’s coordinator, Nash described the engineering of facilities under construction, including greenhouse treatments. He noted the adjoining 1978 Ebbtide building will be repurposed for a pump station.
May was in Sechelt to attend a nomination meeting for the hotly contested West Vancouver– Sunshine Coast–Sea to Sky Country federal riding. Ken Melamed, a former mayor of Whistler was pronounced the winner of the riding’s nomination heat on Saturday.
Apryl Veld
