Sundridge closer to inspecting septic system leaks on Lake Bernard

Article content

The Village of Sundridge and the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority (NBMCA) are nearing the implementation of a plan for a sewage inspection program involving homeowners with water treatment facilities on Lake Bernard.

Article content

The aim of the inspections is to ensure that none of the systems leaks or discharges human waste into Lake Bernard and adversely affects it.

“Nobody’s system should get into the lake and this is a way to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Coun said. said Steve Hicks.

The conservation agency would oversee the inspections and since the village applies, the community will pay for them.

Mayor Lyle Hall prefers to have a full inspection of the sewage treatment plant carried out and allow homeowners some time to fix any deficiencies found.

Hall also says that there must be consequences if a homeowner fails to fix a problem or issues. He demands some kind of enforcement, otherwise the practice of someone leaking their sewage treatment plant or discharging sewage into the lake will continue.

How the homeowners pay for the repairs is yet to be decided by the council.

When staff asked what if a homeowner can’t pay for the repairs, Hall suggested that the village borrow the necessary funds and have them repaid.

But Hicks didn’t want any of it. He claimed that the community should not pay for the repair work even if it is done through a repayable loan.

Hicks said if someone’s septic system needs repairing now, it was the homeowner’s negligence over time that made the situation worse and that person held accountable.

Deputy Mayor Shawn Jackson agreed with Hicks while Coun. Barbara Belrose thought it wouldn’t hurt to borrow money for repairs.

Article content

The council agreed on the idea of ​​a full inspection, which involves pumping out and inspecting tanks.

The council was not interested in the NBMCA just performing a visual inspection of the systems.

One piece of information that the village still needs from the NBMCA is the cost of inspecting the systems.

About 12 septic tanks would be involved in the inspection program.

The council also agrees that the monument authority should carry out the inspections.

Hall and Jackson agreed that it shouldn’t be a local company doing the work, as the council wants to avoid any perception that a conflict of interest might exist.

Staff will now write to the NBMCA to get a cost estimate for the full inspection and then report the dollar amount to the council at a future meeting.

Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works at the North Bay Nugget. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Canadian government.

You might also like

Comments are closed.