Improper disposal of oils and grease costs taxpayers thousands

By Miriam Ostermann, Associate Editor

The flushing and cleaning of Strathmore’s sanitary sewer system is costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As a result, the Town of Strathmore is developing a sanitary bylaw, starting with the Sanitary Sewer Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) Management Policy which will provide a framework to aid in the establishment of the bylaw.
Mitigating damage caused by flushing fats, oils and greases in the sanitary sewer system costs $188,000 annually for sanitary sewer flushing, lift station cleaning, flushing problem areas and emergency flushing due to sewer back-ups.
The town currently has no control on the substances being discharged into the sanitary sewer system by commercial, industrial and residential users. As a result, town administration brought forward the policy, which was adopted on April 4, to reduce the occurrence and provide direction on management to the town’s administration.
“If you had asked me two months ago about this stuff I would have said ah who cares. Now I realize when the sewer backs up, there is a large sanitary sewer pipe and it’s taking waste not only from restaurants but public facilities, and when it hits a restriction in the pipe things go wrong real quick,” said Werner Fischer, director of planning and development with the Town of Strathmore.
“We are not by this policy requiring anybody to do anything. We are by this policy creating a framework so that we can write a bylaw on what we should be looking at and what we should not be looking at. For now, we are trying to put some basic border around what the bylaw might look like.”
Fats, oils and grease can cause blockages and restrictions when introduced into the sewer pipes. This can lead to raw sewage backup into homes and businesses, and even overflow into streets and storm sewers. Furthermore, it poses a risk of overloading the sewage treatment plant, which could compromise the efficiency and quality of the treated sewage resulting from the plant.
“The current estimate of cost that this incurs is $188,000 so it’s no small item. It’s certainly something that’s affecting our budget,” said Councillor Bob Sobol. “I brought this up eight years ago to someone who was in (Fischer’s) position before and that was the answer I got – ‘it’s not a big deal.’ I’m glad to know it’s a big deal and I’m glad to know we’re doing something about it.”
A communications plan will address the general public and businesses, and highlight key issues with disposing of cooking oils and other oils and greases into the sewer system. It will also outline the new sanitary sewer bylaw, the regulations, the development permit process, enforcement, system inspections and monitoring of grease and grit removal devices, and offer continuous education and public information. The focus is on best management practices that focus on pollution prevention that are sound, and cost-effective ways to reduce the amount of toxins discharged into the sewage treatment plant.
“We have certain business sewers we’re doing over and over again and some of it is an education,” said Mark Ruault, director of infrastructure and development services for the Town of Strathmore. “The first thing is to get people to understand there is consequences to the town, because at the end of the day we’re all paying that $180,000 through our sewer rates. If we can get that down, educate them, then the next part is to update the bylaw to actually put some teeth in our bylaw to enable us (to say) if you don’t listen to it and you don’t do this then there’s going to be consequences where you will have to pay if we can prove that your sewer is causing the issue.”
Currently Strathmore is home to 30 active foodservice establishments – that includes cafeterias, bars, bakeries and restaurants – and car and truck washes and residential developments that can also contribute to the problem. Although administration singled out senior citizen homes, independent living facilities, daycares, hospitals and businesses that impact the sanitary sewage system, and are encouraged to use grease removal devices, council was assured that no action would be taken based on the policy.
“What I like about this is it puts us into a situation, as far as planning for the future, to be proactive versus reactive,” said Strathmore Mayor Pat Fule. “If we can reduce the amount going into our system then we have to react less times as far as clearing things and doing emergency repairs.”
Cooking oils or grease can enter the system by being poured down the sink, or by dishwasher or garburator discharge. The recycling facility accepts cooking oils as a recyclable material.
Council agreed unanimously to pass the motion to adopt the Sanitary Sewer Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) Management Policy during the regular council meeting on April 4.