McLoughlin Point best option to treat Victoria's sewage, project board says

A project board appointed by the province says a single treatment plant at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt is the best option to treat Victoria's sewage.

The board was brought in to help move the deadlocked issue along for the Capital Regional District. It released its final report with the recommendation on a location for the sewage treatment plant Wednesday.

McLoughlin Point was previously chosen by the CRD as the preferred site, but the plan fell apart when Esquimalt's city council refused to approve the required zoning.

The new proposal for McLoughlin Point includes a smaller footprint and significant improvements to landscaping, said project board chair Jane Bird.

"I think we saw an opportunity to revise the previous design to take into account what we understood to be the views of Esquimalt residents and to improve the design in a manner that was consistent with their views," Bird told All Points West host Robyn Burns.

"We are hopeful that the CRD will review that work and consider our recommendation that they approve this to move forward."

Improved plan

Despite a refusal by Esquimalt city council to provide zoning for a proposed sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Point in 2014, Mayor Barb Desjardins said the new plan looks more promising.

"I'm disappointed it's McLoughlin," Desjardins said. "That being said, I think the project board has come up with things ... that we can all be proud of."

Desjardin said the new plan addresses many of the concerns raised by people in Esquimalt about the original plan.

"There are those that are concerned that we have wasted time and perhaps dollars. Well, I don't think so," she said. "What the project board is bringing forward is significantly less [cost], better environmentally."

Under the proposal, ​Esquimalt would also receive amenities valued at approximately $20 million for hosting the facility.

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Deadline looms

The CRD has been under pressure to come up with a plan with a deadline of 2020 looming to provide secondary treatment of sewage. 

Three options were short-listed by the project board last month:

• A single plant at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt
• A single plant at Rock Bay in Victoria
• Two small plants; one at McLoughlin Point and one at Rock Bay 

The board took time to scrutinize the options and complete full cost estimates for each before settling on its recommendation.

Building a single plant at McLoughlin Point is estimated to cost $765 million. A single plant at Rock Bay would have cost $920 million. Smaller plants in both locations would have come in with a price tag of more than $1 billion.

The project board estimates building the plant will require an average annual property tax hike of $245 per household.

The project board is also proposing the Rock Bay site be leased to provide a staging area for construction materials that would be barged to McLouglin Point to reduce disruption in Esquimalt.

It also says a plan to build a wastewater treatment facility in Colwood should receive more study.

• Clover Point ruled out for Victoria sewage plant
• Victoria sewage woes still cause stink as region sends site proposal down drain
• Victoria sewage treatment plans inching along, but mayors not in harmony

The board will present its recommendation to the CRD on Sept. 14. The federal government expects a final decision by Sept. 30 or the project could lose federal funding.

The federal government is expected to contribute about $253.4 million towards the project. The province has committed another $248 million.

With files from All Points West and David Biro