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Excessive trash in wastewater a concern for town

Municipality has asked numerous times for residents to be aware of what they flush

ATHABASCA - The Town of Athabasca is asking, nearly pleading, once again, for residents to stop flushing things other than the usual approved materials for which toilets and sewage systems were designed — it could be leading to issues which they may not even be aware.

Utilities supervisor Terry Kosinksi provided Town of Athabasca councillors with his monthly report at their regular meeting Dec. 1, noting a marked increase in amount of trash being deposited in the wastewater collection system resulting in the installation of a second trash rack to prevent debris from entering the grinder. 

“I have a concern with how much you’re pulling out of the trash collection,” said Coun. Ida Edwards. “Sixteen hundred and twenty pounds?” 

Kosinski provided stats comparing from August to November over three years; 2018 – 570 pounds; 2019 – 420 pounds; 2020 – 1620 pounds; averaging out to a 234.5 per cent increase, but he did note the stats from the first two years were collected having a grinder in place, while the 2020 number came as a result of not having a grinder in place.

“We have seen some more wipes, and this and that, potentially due to COVID or what have you, but we had to have that grinder removed, and sent it out for a lower-end replacement,” said Kosinski. “We felt well, let's see what the grinder is actually doing for us.” 

He said a secondary trash rack was installed while the grinder was out, and made the department realize how much debris was really ending up in the lagoon. 

“It really opened our eyes to a couple things; how much the primary trash rack was missing and what we assumed was going through the grinder,” he said. “We didn't really see it because the grinder was just doing its job taking that trash, shredding it and putting it into the lagoon. We can't have that so a secondary rack is going to stay in place.” 

Mayor Colleen Powell asked if he was able to narrow down if there was a particular part of town the debris was coming from. 

“I'm thinking it might be a larger facility rather than residents, or is it just all of us being idiots?” 

He declined to point fingers although he did acknowledge it was possible to narrow down which part of town was the worst offender and agreed there needed to be a public awareness campaign. 

“Education, education, education, and hopefully there will be a handful of people that will listen,” Kosinski said. “Every little bit that we can keep out is a win.” 

It is also a good reminder if a resident’s sewer backs up, they will be responsible for the repair costs if it is due to their own negligence. 

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