MOUNT FOREST – The County of Wellington is requesting the township of Wellington North consider accepting leachate generated from the Riverstown landfill at the Mount Forest wastewater treatment plant.
In a report on the proposal, county environmental consultation Darren Dickson, who will be delegating at Monday's council meeting, said staff believe of the options considered, building a force main or trucking leachate to Mount Forest is expected to have the lowest 25-year lifecycle costs by a "significant margin," assuming the truck has a minimum capacity of 20 m3.
The proposal follows the County of Wellington retaining AtkinsRéalis for an evaluation exploring options to "safely" and "cost-effectively" treat or dispose of landfill leachate from the Riverstown Waste Facility (RWF).
Leachate is a type of liquid pollution that occurs when water filters through landfills and is influenced by several factors including precipitation rate, the waste types received, the landfill area, configuration and operating procedures, and the various stages and durations of landfill development.
A report on the proposal said two potential options exist for off-site disposal: piping the collected leachate through a force main connecting the landfill to the WWTP or trucking the leachate to alternative sites like Mount Forest or the Guelph WWTP facility, which currently treats leachate from the Eastview Landfill site.
The county is also considering building an on-site facility to treat leachate from the RWF, which would have an estimated equipment capital cost of $4,035,750- not including power, operation and chemical consumption costs.
In response to concerns indicated by the township about potential impacts to the South Saugeen River with respect to toxicity, river ecology and odour/smell, Dickson said river ecology is not expected to be impacted as the WWTP will continue to treat received materials to acceptable discharge limits, "which are designed to ensure the protection of aquatic life."
Odour at the discharge is also not anticipated to change and would be more likely to occur where leachate is introduced to the sanitary lines. This can be managed through a chemical treatment at the RWF pump station said Dickson.
Dickson will delegate at a Wellington North council meeting on Monday at 2 p.m.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
