Spill at Behchoko sewage lagoon was treated sewage, not raw, chief says

One million litres of sewage that spilled out of the Behchoko, N.W.T., sewage lagoon earlier this week had been treated, the community's chief says.

According to the N.W.T. spills database, one million litres of sewage spilled from the lagoon on April 19 after a part of the lagoon's infrastructure broke. The spill was reported to the territorial government 24 hours later.

The territorial government says it is investigating the cause of the spill. 

The spill was first reported Monday by Cabin Radio. On Tuesday, Behchoko Chief Clifford Daniels told CBC that while the database lists the spill as raw sewage, it had in fact been treated.

Daniels said the community's raw sewage goes into a holding area called cell one. It is then partially treated and deposited into a second holding area called cell two for its final treatment. It's later released into wetlands surrounding the community.  

Cell two, Daniels said, is where the sewage leaked out of.

"We want the public to be aware that this is not raw sewage. We're trying to figure out what happened," Daniels said.

"When we find out we'll remedy it as soon as possible. Obviously there's going to be a cost to this."

Daniels said representatives from the territory's departments of Environment and Natural Resources, Infrastructure, and Municipal and Community Affairs along with Fisheries and Oceans Canada are investigating what happened and testing the sewage and surrounding water bodies. 

If the spilled sewage is found to be treated enough to be released into the environment, it will be pumped into the surrounding wetlands, Daniels said. 

The spilled sewage is currently being contained on the north side of cell two because the culvert it would normally flow out of is frozen. 

An engineering firm will perform an inspection this week to see what caused the spill and how much it will cost to fix it.

The territory's Department of Health says there is currently no risk to the community's water supply, which is 2.5 kilometres away from the spill. It is asking residents to stay away from the area surrounding the lagoon. 

'Non-compliance' with water licence 

How the community treats and releases its sewage is governed by its water licence with with Wek'eezhii Land and Water Board.

In a letter to the Behchoko Community Government on Feb. 7, the board said the government wasn't complying with its licence.

As part of its licence, the community has to issue several annual reports, including inspections and sampling studies.

The board said it had been years since the community government submitted some of those. In fact, a contingency plan for what to do if there was a spill at the sewage lagoon, which is supposed to be submitted every year, hadn't been done since 2014.

We really need to deal with that, how to be compliant.- Behchoko Chief Clifford Daniels

The board said an updated plan and inspection report was especially important because the facilities are "decades" old.

In an effort to push the community government to act, the board even listed the possible punishments and fines for being in "non-compliance" of its water licence. A first offence could see the community government fined up to $250,000 with a second fine going up to $500,000.

A representative from the Wek'eezhii Land and Water Board declined to comment on the situation.

Daniels said he's aware of the issues with the water licence.

"We're addressing this and we want to work with the Wek'eezhii Land and Water Board. We really need to deal with that, how to be compliant."

In an email, a spokesperson with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs told CBC that the community "has been making investments in their lagoons and working with the water board and the inspector to remedy their non-compliance issues."