KAWARTHA LAKES-The City of Kawartha Lakes says approximately 47,000 m³ of sewage overflowed into local waterways during heavy rains in early April.
The estimated volumes of sewage that overflowed were as follows:
- Rivera Park Sewage Pumping Station (Lindsay) – 40,000 m³
- Colborne St. SPS (Fenelon Falls) – 5700 m³
- Francis St. SPS (Fenelon Falls ) – 1166 m³
The City says it is important to note that these bypasses are heavily influenced by inflow and infiltration and the actual amount of raw sewage released is much less than the bypass flows.
The Ministry of Natural Resources Spills Action Centre was contacted on April 3, 2025, regarding sewage overflows at the Lindsay Rivera Street Pumping Station and the Fenelon Falls Colborne and Francis Street Pumping Stations.
“In each case, the collection systems were overwhelmed due to snow melt and heavy rains, which exceeded the pumping capacity of each system. Overflow infrastructure at sewage pumping stations are designed to prevent surge events from causing system upsets and infrastructure damage.” the Ministry told Kawartha 411 News.
Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECAs) require that these facilities report such events to the ministry’s Spills Action Centre.
“Adverse environmental impacts are not anticipated from either event, and the pumping stations have returned to normal operating conditions. Ministry staff continue to work closely with the operator and municipality to ensure appropriate actions are taken during overflow events.” the Ministry added. “During the overflow events, the operator took appropriate actions, including reporting the overflows to the Ministry’s Spills Action Centre, collecting samples, and notifying the local Health Unit and downstream water users.”
Mitigation measures, such as the use of surge and detention tanks, were employed to minimize the volume of the overflow and the pumping stations have returned to normal operating conditions.
