'Big pipe' a foolish venture for Manotick

Re: Manotick's sewers on hold, April 10.

As a Manotick resident for 49 years who will probably be assessed $48,000 for having the sewage pipe pass the bottom of my property (although I do not need to use the system), I can be forgiven for being concerned that my money is wisely spent on the Big Pipe.

There is no doubt that Hillside Gardens and the Core areas of the village desperately need some form of central sewage collection and, as a strong supporter of our village, I am happy to pay a fair share of the cost.

Council was expected to decide last week on whether or not to proceed with a solution, but postponed a decision until April 23. They are faced with two mutually conflicting factors: the need to take action now because of very serious sewage problems, and the need to accept that sewage treatment for small communities on the boundaries of the City of Ottawa

Photo by CHRIS MIKULA,
THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

While there is an urgency to deal with Manotick’s sewage problems, there must be further study, writes Lionel Strange.

cannot be handled by ever longer extensions of the city’s central system.

An alternative system is already installed and working in the village and, although it is apparently very successful, city staff seem determined to downplay it in favour of the big pipe solution. Piping the additional sewage from Manotick to an already overloaded sewage plant on the other side of Ottawa seems rather foolish and the installation of a main sewer pipe down the middle of Manotick will produce months of unimaginable traffic chaos in a village which is already well on the road to becoming a full-time car park.

Since the Hillside Gardens situation seems to be extremely urgent, it may be appropriate to run a main sewer pipe to that area simply to avoid further delay even though a smaller local system would be more economical. However, one could reasonably ask why it would not be both possible and more expedient to expand the present small system now operating in the village core area to service any customers in the area who are suffering sewage problems.

Since the city is about to spend taxpayers dollars to fight Minto from expanding the village to double its size, the need for a main sewer for this proposed addition should obviously not be put forward as a supporting reason to bring in a big pipe.

[There is a] "need to accept that sewage treatment for small communities on the boundaries of the City of Ottawa cannot be handled by ever longer extensions of the city’s central system."

-Lionel Strange

The city is already in a difficult financial situation. It does not need to burden itself with millions of dollars in unnecessary long-term debt.

LIONEL STRANGE,
Manotick