Public engagement will begin this week and last until April 26th on the plan to relocate the treated sewage outfall from the Cowichan River to a deep outfall in Cowichan Bay.
The Joint Utilities Board intends to construct a pipeline from the treatment plant in Duncan to a suitable deep-water location at the embayment line of Cowichan Bay.
The current discharge point is in the Cowichan River five kilometres upstream from Cowichan Bay.
The cost of the project has ballooned to approximately 95-million dollars and additional funding will be needed from the province before construction can begin.
The public engagement is designed to provide residents with information about the reasons behind the need to remove the outfall from the Cowichan River, the proposed route for the pipe and the increased project cost.
The Joint Utilities Board Sewage Treatment Plant is a hybrid secondary/tertiary treatment plant that treats wastewater from 14,000 households and businesses in parts of North Cowichan, Duncan, Cowichan Bay, Eagle Heights and Cowichan Tribes.
For more information visit the outfall website at: www.northcowichan.ca/outfall, and provide comments or ask questions at www.connectnorthcowichan.ca/outfall
