By Adam Donnelly

Biosolids still causing a stink in the TNRD

Jul 20, 2018 | 4:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Each year the City of Kamloops produces around 12,500 tonnes of biosolids from the treatment process at the Kamloops Sewage Treatment Centre, a significant volume of nutrient-rich organic materials the city needs to deal with.

The current solution is to use the material to enrich soil for agricultural and horticultural use, as fertilizer, or compost; for many TNRD residents, the negatives – like a foul odour – far outweigh the benefits, which is why the Regional District held a workshop today in Kamloops to look at their current policy regarding biosolids.

Like the title of the famous children’s book by Taro Gomi states “Everyone Poops”; once the deed is done is where the story starts at Friday’s TNRD workshop on biosolids. It’s a topic which has caused quite a stink throughout parts of the Regional District.

“If you talk about the quality of life for residents, it’s the odour that’s created, it’s the traffic patterns that around them, it’s the safety issues as a result,” TNRD Area M (Nicola Valley North) Director Randy Murray explained.

Boogie The Bridge

Boogie The Bridge Event Information

Apr 19, 2024

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Sorry - did you say, 'Take your old guns to the post office?'

2h ago

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Police confirm diversion of government-supplied drugs

22h ago

Currently, the most common means of disposing of these biosolids – a nutrient-rich organic compound created through the treatment of sewage – is to use them to enrich the agricultural land. It also happens to be the most cost-effect way of using biosolids.

Dr Robert Simm is a Vice President of Water Treatment with Stantec, with over 30 years experience in municipal and industrial water treatment. He says depending on each municipalities processing capacity, there are different forms of biosolids that can be used.

“Some utilities and contractors use it in a liquid form, and spread it onto the land,” Simm explained. “Others like to get it drier, as in a cake form, and then basically till it into the land, with a manure spreader.”

But for many residents who live in areas where biosolids have been applied to agricultural land, there are concerns about the potential long-term effects of using these products to help enrich the soil.

“I think of asbestos in the 60’s, and cigarette smoking. All of these things we’ve been through. There was a time when we thought all that was safe,” Murray said. “Now we’re at a point [with biosolids] where we’re dealing with toxic loads in a product that each of us contributes to. Are we going to wake up 20 years from now and realize we should have done more?”

There are a number of options which already exist as alternatives to spreading biosolids on the land.

“We need to look at things that are out there like pyrolysis, and gasification that treats… the biosolids,” Murray said. “That takes it down to a product that’s manageable, and isn’t just the lowest-cost, highest-harm option.”

But according to Dr Simm, those options don’t come cheap.

“We did a study for the City of Edmonton, and some of the thermal technologies were more than twice the [cost],” Simm explained. “But you’ve got to look at what you get out of them as well. When you use some of the thermal technologies you’re producing waste heat, you’re producing power.”

On average, each person in the TNRD produces a half kilogram of excrement. Once processed that turns into 40 grams of biosolids, meaning the question of what to do with those products isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.