Macleans.doc.docVIP

October 17, 2005 From sea to stinking sea Its been called unacceptable and a national disgrace. So why does Canada keep dumping raw sewage into its oceans and rivers? KEN MacQUEEN Victorias churning river of effluent does not look as awful as youd think, considering the unholy reputation that precedes it. Its past breakfast time, and Jim McFarland, environmental services operations manager for the Capital Regional District, shows off the end result as the surge hits the Clover Point pumping station on Vancouver Islands south coast. Its possible, watching the volume of flow through this station, to chart the rhythm of the B.C. capital: the 7:30 a.m. swell of morning ablution and breakfast cleanup; another peak, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., for the supper hour. In the throes of a hot broadcast event, the time of TV commercials can be charted by the flood of waste through the giant pumps and the kilometre-long ocean outfall pipes both here and at nearby Macauly Point. Few things are as elemental, as essential, and unavoidable. It explains the passion that sewage -- such a lowly and unlovely topic -- can generate. This is especially true here, where it is dumped, untreated, into the Juan de Fuca Strait. The raw waste itself resembles a weak, greyish tea, and throws off a muted scent of compost and a cloying whiff of decay. Its 99.9 per cent water and 0.1 per cent solids, says McFarland, whose responsibilities include the regions sewer system. We use a lot of water to wash our waste away. The entire Pacific Ocean, in fact. Canadians generate an impressive three trillion litres of sewage annually: a mix of water, human waste and the pathogens it can contain (such as cholera, typhoid and hepatitis B), microorganisms, toxic chemicals, heavy metals and excreted pharmaceuticals. The waste threatens drinking water, as well as recreational users, aquaculture and fisheries. Municipal sewage is the largest source of pollution discharged to surface water bodies in Canada, warns the Canad