Construction is now underway on the Greenwood Trunk Sanitary Sewer Project.
Once finished, it will divert wastewater away from the Courtenay pump station.
The City of Courtenay says this will ease capacity and environmental concerns, while helping accommodate future growth in the community.
The city added that the new lift station along the Greenwood Trunk will be designed with improved technology, including the ability to monitor the system remotely, which it says will “decrease response times and make managing the system more efficient.”
Mayor Bob Wells says this project is priority one in Courtenay’s Sewer Master Plan.
“It will provide much-needed capacity in the sewer system and ensure it can support anticipated future development in and around this part of the city. Reducing the amount of wastewater entering the Courtenay lift station also lowers the potential for overflow into the estuary during peak storm events.”
The new line will move wastewater from East Courtenay to the sewage treatment plant on Brent Road via the CFB Comox pump station.
Construction started in June and is expected to continue until December.
Much of the project will occur on private property, with the main construction access to the site via a farm gate on Anderton Road.
Construction along a section of Anderton Road north of Ryan Road is expected in mid-September.
With the presence of fish-bearing waterways and amphibian habitats in and around the project area, the project team is following a number of measures to protect the environment.
The work will be limited to a schedule approved by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to minimize the impact on aquatic life.
Total 2020 project costs for tender, design, and construction are estimated at $4.1 million.
The city is funding this project through $1.05 million in reserve funds, $50,000 from general sewer utility revenue, and the remaining $3 million from borrowing.
Schedules will be updated as work progresses.
Visit www.courtenay.ca/greenwoodtrunk for up-to-date project information.
