Georgian Downs sniffing out sewage treatment solution in Innisfil

by Janis Ramsay Innisfil Journal 

Georgian Downs is asking permission to dump treated sewage into Innisfil’s drainage system.

In a letter to the town, Georgian Downs facilities manager Peter Musgrove said the company needs a temporary solution for its failing sewage system.

There are already two sewage treatment plants and disposal system on site, the first built in October 2001 inside the race track.

The second was built in 2009 south of the former rail tracks.

“In 2014 work was required on two of the three disposal beds south of the railway tracks due to organic build up within the distribution pipes,” Musgrove wrote on Jan. 25. “In October 2017, due to performance testing, the same two beds were shut down by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.”

This forced Georgian Downs to haul their sewage weekly to the Alcona treatment facility at a high cost, he added.

A third disposal bed has also now been shut down.

In November 2017, Musgrove met with staff to talk about a solution.

He is now asking council’s permission to treat their sewage on-site with a Membrane Bio-Reactor System and discharge the effluent into the Lawson Drain.

Innisfil staff is in favour of the temporary situation, with council discussing a decision Feb. 7.