Contractors with the City of Williams Lake have temporarily fixed a sewage leak in the River Valley, preventing raw effluent from going into the Fraser River.
Crews had confirmed the leak Thursday and worked late into the night and this morning to install a plug and divert the sewage through the pre-treatment process. The sewage had been released from an overflow upstream of the Sewage Treatment Lagoons.
B.C.’s Emergency Coordination Centre, Ministry of Environment and Department of Fisheries and Oceans have been notified.
“Our crews worked as fast they could to fix this situation so we can start to get back to normal operations,” said Gary Muraca, City of Williams Lake's Director of Municipal Services. “This is a big win. We can now focus on getting the main line repaired.”
The leak is in addition to a ruptured pipe further down the line, which has yet to be repaired as crews are having difficulty accessing the site. Sewage released from that pipe is pre-treated. Crews continue to bring in rocks to rebuild the roads, and shore up the perimeter of the Sewage Lagoons with riprap.
The municipal water supply has not been affected. However, residents are reminded to keep water use – such as baths, laundry, dishwashing and toilet-flushing -- to a minimum to reduce the flow into the sewage treatment facility.
Meanwhile, the City has extended a State of Local Emergency for another seven days due to the flooding and erosion, which has washed out sections of the River Valley Road, made at least 17 bridges impassable and eroded the River Valley Trail. An evacuation order for 11 industrial properties on Frizzi Road and an evacuation alert for the Green Acres Mobile Home Park remain in effect.
Updates will be provided as information becomes available.
To reach the Emergency Operations Centre, please call 250-392-2364.
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