Bloody hell! I can't believe they finally bit the bullet. This is
one issue I've had a hard time understanding. Our northern neighbors
are customarily kind and genteel in their dealings. This was a sore
spot and it's finally going away.

Wonder how long it'll take to build the plants...



After years of bad publicity — including a campaign by "Mr. Floatie" —
the British Columbia capital of Victoria plans to stop pouring
millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the marine waters between
Vancouver Island and Washington state.

Regional politicians last week approved a $1.2 billion plan to build
four treatment plants to handle about 34 million gallons of raw sewage
that Victoria and six suburbs pump into the Strait of Juan de Fuca
each day. The cities are home to about 300,000 people.

"It's the first time we've had the region say, 'It's the direction
we're going to go in,' " said Christianne Wilhelmson, with the Georgia
Strait Alliance, which has pushed for sewage treatment for years.

Environmentalists say the treatment should improve the marine
environment and public health. Others, however, argue the money could
be better spent elsewhere, and that sewage pumped into the strait is
sufficiently diluted by water and fast-moving currents. The strait
separates the island from Washington's Olympic Peninsula and leads to
Puget Sound.

For years, the effluent issue has been a sore point on both sides of
the border, contrasting with Victoria's self-promotion as a tourist
center, a gateway to the wilderness forests and rugged marine coast of
Vancouver Island, and a city of prim and proper homes, shops, gardens
and tea rooms worthy of its royal namesake.

"It's the only city in Canada where people resolutely cling to the
notion that Victorian waste is different from other waste," said Lara
Tessaro, a staff attorney with Ecojustice in Canada.

Efforts to shame politicians into adopting sewage treatment were
marked by a humorous yet failed attempt by Mr. Floatie — the
7-foot-tall brown-clad mascot for POOP, People Opposed to Outfall
Pollution — to run for mayor of Victoria.

Environmentalists say untreated sewage contains toxic chemicals, heavy
metals and other contaminants that pollute waters and harm aquatic
life. It's also one of many sources contaminating the region's killer
whales, they say.

In 2006, the British Columbia government ordered the Victoria area to
develop a sewage treatment plan.

"Since then, it's been, 'How do we move ahead?"' said Andy Orr, a
spokesman for Capital Regional District, the government for 13
municipalities on the southern end of Vancouver Island.

A cleaner image couldn't come at a better time for British Columbia,
which is hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Vancouver, on
the mainland east of Victoria, treats its sewage.

"Victoria's reputation has been tarnished by our sewage treatment,"
said Dean Fortin, who became Victoria's mayor last fall. "This is our
opportunity to move forward."

More here...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...sewage10m.html