Creek project reinforces sanitary sewer crossings

The upstream view above the construction area shows the temporary dam in place and the pump moving water downstream of the work area. The pump maintains flow in the creek and keeps the water from becoming stagnant, which could kill aquatic life. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Astute observers traveling down Concession Street West by the Participark parking lot would have noticed large piles of stone and wondered if a landscaping project was underway.

Not so. In fact, the stones – which range from nearly two feet in diameter down to a few inches – are being used to reinforce the spots where the town’s sanitary sewer crosses the many waterways in town.

Logan Vandevyvere, the town's interim manager of engineering, explained that the sewer pipes cross under the creeks in several spots. Over the years, water in the creeks wears down the soil in the creek bed, which can expose the pipes and increase the chance of damage.

“It’s really just to protect the sanitary sewer, so if a big gush comes through with a log in it, it doesn’t break it open,” he said.

The sewer lines running through the gully are main lines that are fed by smaller lines coming out of subdivisions. The work currently underway involves placing rock on the creek bed to protect the sewage pipes at nine sites between Quarter Line Road and Concession Street West.

“They’ve seen some of the pipe is close to being exposed, so they want to protect it,” Vandevyvere said.

The challenge is that the creek needs to be temporarily dammed, and a pump used to move water from above the temporary dam to below the work site, where rock is being added. Electrofishing is used to move fish from the stagnant water above, where the pipe brings water back in, to the work site. Catfish, crayfish, and small trout have been found, amongst other species.

The project started on July 16, as in-water construction can’t start before that due to provincial government restrictions to protect fish during the spawning period. It’s expected to take 12 weeks to complete.