Dawson City sewage plant still failing tests 2 years later

Dawson City's new sewage treatment plant is still failing its water quality tests after nearly two years in operation.

The plant must pass water quality tests for three straight months before it can be handed over to the town.

Dawson City mayor Wayne Potoroka says the plant still isn't living up to expectations.

"We'd hoped that this thing would be working by now and in fact we kind of expected that it would be," he said.

"The plant [has to be] working for three months in a row meeting all the guidelines and it hasn't met that standard yet. It hasn't met that test."

Potoroka says the town also has yet to see an estimate of the annual operating costs of the plant.

In the meantime, the Yukon government and the builder are picking up the costs while they work on getting the plant to meet the quality standards.

Meanwhile, inspectors from the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board are currently investigating complaints about worker safety in the facility. They include concerns about people being in the plant without the proper safety gear.