Montreal to Begin Dumping Untreated Sewage into the St. Lawrence

[killer_carlson]

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...lawrence-river

For one week.

The new Federal Environment Minister has approved the plan. Apparently it is to allow them to replace some aging equipment.

i'm not sure how such poor planning at the municipal level resulted in a situation developing where this is the best option. I'm also uncertain how such poor planning escapes sanction through massive fines or penalties.

[TurdFerguson]

Seems like a crappy idea to me

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...lawrence-river

For one week.

The new Federal Environment Minister has approved the plan. Apparently it is to allow them to replace some aging equipment.

i'm not sure how such poor planning at the municipal level resulted in a situation developing where this is the best option. I'm also uncertain how such poor planning escapes sanction through massive fines or penalties.

Discussed here as well:

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...150251&page=12

The plan was developed by Harper's government. I am not sure if I agree with the Liberals approving it now, but I am also not sure of what the ramifications of not approving it at this point would be. They are not the only city in Canada to get rid of sewage like this, but I do agree that it sounds terrible on the surface.

[Fuzz]

Meh, it's one week. Are there going to be any lasting effects? It's not like their plan is to continue doing this forever. Is it kinda gross? Sure. But I don't see it as being the massive environmental disaster it is being made out to be.

[GirlySports]

it's also the third time in ten years they've done this.

[puffnstuff]

Well if its good enough for Victoria...

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

it's also the third time in ten years they've done this.

Exactly. This isn't anything new, other than being the start of witch hunt. The Liberals have been in power for about a week. This wasn't a decision that happened overnight after they took power, nor was it something considered newsworthy in the past when it happened.

This type of reporting is expected from the National Post though.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Exactly. This isn't anything new, other than being the start of witch hunt. The Liberals have been in power for about a week. This wasn't a decision that happened overnight after they took power, nor was it something considered newsworthy in the past when it happened.

This type of reporting is expected from the National Post though.

So it shouldn't be reported at all then?

that's absurd

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

The plan was developed by Harper's government.

It was?
I'm not saying you're wrong just that I haven't read that anywhere. I don't doubt that the Harper government would also have approved it but my understanding is that this is a Quebec plan.

[Wiggum_PI]

Why don't they treat the sewage before dumping it into the river?

A lot of people are saying it would be too expensive, but wasn't Trudeau the guy who campaigned on running 3 years of deficits anyway?

The Liberals are looking like pretty big hypocrites with all their promises for better environmental protection and policies then the Conservatives.

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Discussed here as well:

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...150251&page=12

The plan was developed by Harper's government. I am not sure if I agree with the Liberals approving it now, but I am also not sure of what the ramifications of not approving it at this point would be. They are not the only city in Canada to get rid of sewage like this, but I do agree that it sounds terrible on the surface.

You're going to need to post a reference for that claim.

The plan was a Montreal municipal plan that the Harper governemnt put the brakes on until a study could be done. The Liberals approved it almost as soon as they were in office. Despite a huge petition against it and the US getting pissed off.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

You're going to need to post a reference for that claim.

The plan was a Montreal municipal plan that the Harper governemnt put the brakes on until a study could be done. The Liberals approved it almost as soon as they were in office. Despite a huge petition against it and the US getting pissed off.

Retribution for the Keystone XL.

You wont approve our pipeline? Fine, we'll inundate you with our ####!

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by Wiggum_PI

Why don't they treat the sewage before dumping it into the river?

A lot of people are saying it would be too expensive, but wasn't Trudeau the guy who campaigned on running 3 years of deficits anyway?

The Liberals are looking like pretty big hypocrites with all their promises for better environmental protection and policies then the Conservatives.

Dont you know?

The only pollution that matters in Canada is carbon emissions.

[bc-chris]

maybe montrealers think their **** doesn't stink?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Wiggum_PI

Why don't they treat the sewage before dumping it into the river?

A lot of people are saying it would be too expensive, but wasn't Trudeau the guy who campaigned on running 3 years of deficits anyway?

The Liberals are looking like pretty big hypocrites with all their promises for better environmental protection and policies then the Conservatives.

The issue is that they have to replace a line. While that is happening, the sewage has to go somewhere, as it can't use that line to get to the treatment plant. So they are routing it to the St Lawrence. I would guess the only other option would be trucking it, and maybe they don't have enough equipment to do that. Alternatively, they could ask all the people upstream to "hold their crap" for a week...

[Thor]

Man I've never seen Canada so partisan since near and after this election. I really hope we are not going the way of the states. My friends back in Calgary are constantly blasting anything they can and blaming the Liberals.

[Huntingwhale]

There is a good thread on Reddit about this and I'll just quote what I read

People are grossly misunderstanding how little a volume that is compared to what travels down the St. Lawrence River, and this article is certainly propagating that misunderstanding.
The St. Lawrence river has a discharge of 16,800m³/s, whereas this sewage rerouting will discharging 3.54m³/s of sewage, leaving a scant 0.00021% of the water supply consisting of sewage. While it's certainly not ideal to pump waste in the river, it isn't going to do any real harm to anyone.

The St Lawrence river has a flow rate of 6,000 to 7,000 cubic meters per second.[1] . The sewage will be discharged at 12 cubic meters per second.

https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/c..._of_untreated/

So in the grand scheme of things, it's not that bad. If anything plastic is the real concern for any aquatic life.

People poop. The only solution is to not poop.

[Poe969]

I told my wife I didn't poop for a week, she said I was full of crap....

At first glance this seems outrageous but looking at the stats, it really isn't a big deal.

[Johnny199r]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

There is a good thread on Reddit about this and I'll just quote what I read





https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/c..._of_untreated/

So in the grand scheme of things, it's not that bad. If anything plastic is the real concern for any aquatic life.

People poop. The only solution is to not poop.

Not true, ladies don't poop.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

The issue is that they have to replace a line. While that is happening, the sewage has to go somewhere, as it can't use that line to get to the treatment plant. So they are routing it to the St Lawrence. I would guess the only other option would be trucking it, and maybe they don't have enough equipment to do that. Alternatively, they could ask all the people upstream to "hold their crap" for a week...

I can get past the short term issue - it's the best of a bad solution.

What I struggle with is that they've known about this for 10 years. Fix the line. Make an interim solution where you build a talings pond somewhere. You have the benefit of time and they squandered it. There should be accountability.