As the town of Stratford works to decide between two options to solve its wastewater problems, the town of North Rustico says a relatively new system in that municipality is working perfectly.

In 2014, the municipality decided to move from an older style of batch treatment, to a more modern system. Les Standen, chairman of the North Rustico Sewer and Water Utility said since then, there's been no problem with odour.

Water quality tests also continue to surpass government regulations.

"So far our results, we've got a very good quality of effluent going out, better than before, what we put out before was meeting government guidelines but this surpasses those dramatically, and it's an excellent treatment system for our community, so we're very pleased with it," said Standen.

Image | Les Standen

Caption: Les Standen, chairman of the North Rustico Sewer and Water Utility, says there's been no problem with odour with the new wastewater system. (Submitted)

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The town made use of government grants to install the new system, but had to borrow 25 per cent of the cost, which amounted to $500,000.

Standen said that cost will be spread out over many years because it wouldn't have been fair to place the entire financial burden on the community, for such a long-term investment.

"It's not just this current population that benefits, it's future generations, these treatment systems have huge longevity," he said.

Standen said there's a lot for any municipality to consider when overhauling its sewage treatment.

"What are their volumes during summer, what are their volumes during winter, what is current growth rate and expected growth rate, you don't want to oversize any system," Standen said.

"You've got to look at current numbers of residents, how much can you fairly impose on them from a cost standpoint to run."

Earlier this month, the town of Stratford unveiled two proposed plans to treat wastewater, either pump sewage to Charlottetown for processing, or build a new plant in Stratford. The town's mayor, David Dunphy said council would gather feedback from residents until Aug. 17.

The decision on which option the town will choose will be announced at the next council meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 14.