Aug 26 - Island waters finally free from raw sewage

Good morning !

For many years, Greater Victoria was notorious for still pumping raw sewage into the ocean. It was even the subject of international disputes. With the opening of the treatment plant at McLoughlin, that mostly died down—but some of the criticism shifted to Tofino, which continued the practice. That is, until now, when Tofino completed its own facility.

More about that milestone, and the process that led to it, in today's first story.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧️ 15 / 10

Tuesday: ☀️ 18 / 9

Wednesday: ☀️ 21 / 10

7-day forecast

NEWS

No more raw sewage into ocean as Tofino opens wastewater plant

For the first time in more than 130 years, there are no prominent Island communities pumping raw sewage into the ocean. Victoria began the practice in 1894 and stopped at the end of 2020. Now Tofino, which dumped untreated sewage for decades, has officially opened its new treatment facility.

The facility is Tofino's largest-ever capital project, and was delayed by about two years when its budget had to be revised due to the pandemic. The initial plan was for $55M total, with $40M from BC and federal funding; it ended up above $78M in construction costs, with about $53M in funding. (That cost overrun, though, is nothing compared to the embattled North Shore facility's jump from $700M to nearly $4B, which was just put under independent review.)

The new plant will treat sewage and release it into Dufferin Passage, the same place the untreated releases went. Different areas are currently being hooked up to the system, wrapping up Tuesday.

Victoria was notorious for decades

When Greater Victoria completed its $775M McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, it shed the black mark of being the last major Canadian community to dump raw sewage into the ocean. This practice had drawn the ire of down-current Washington State, to the point that a Victoria sewage facility was a condition of WA supporting Vancouver's Olympic bid.

When the plan was finally announced in 2017, the Canadian consul general in Seattle hosted a retirement for Mr. Floatie—the tall brown mascot alter ego of local schoolteacher local James Skwarok. Floatie had first emerged on April Fool’s Day 2004, and protested the sewage discharges as a representative of People Opposed to Outfall Pollution (POOP).

Ending ocean dumping hasn't ended local sewage concerns

Currently, local wastewater is treated at McLoughlin and then sent Hartland landfill's Synagro facility where residual solids are turned into biogas and about 10 tonnes of Class A biosolids per day. Although Class A is the highest quality, there are still major concerns about the chemical effect of applying biosolids to land.

The local biosolids were supposed to be sent to the mainland, but problems with that facility have left the CRD scrambling to find a place for them. Long-term, it aims to have a thermal biosolids pilot facility and will choose a builder this fall.

Meanwhile Sooke is in the midst of a $6.6M expansion of its own wastewater treatment system.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

Rain expected from afternoon to midnight today; wind continues overnight.

Missing: Sevina, 28, last seen in downtown Victoria on Aug. 20. [Details / Photo]

Work on new Holt Creek Bridge, connecting Duncan and Lake Cowichan by trail, begins today and lasts to mid-Sept. [BC Gov]

2-0 start for UVic men's soccer team this season. [Vikes recap]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

Parking downtown? Check the parkade space tracker.

FOOD

Sooke Harbour House looks to resurrect its food legacy; formal dining room reopens soon

A little over a week ago, we brought you an update via The Westshore on the reopening of the Sooke Harbour House. Now we have some more details, via Tasting Victoria, on the reopening of its restaurants.

When the local landmark built its international reputation, food was a key part of the package. In the decades before its legal troubles, the high-profile hotel had been a pioneer in the slow-food movement and a training ground for some of Canada's most prominent chefs. 

In 2021, Capital Daily covered the saga of how the once-renowned local landmark was overtaken by an American fraudster. The hotel was eventually bought by IAG Enterprises and targeted a reopening by the end of 2023, but renovations were delayed.

Reopened hotel has bistro, dining room, and 300-seat patio

The House reopened at the start of this month, booking guests and serving food from its bistro. But it also plans to open a formal dining room at month’s end, rekindling the venue’s award-winning farm-to-table legacy with local seaweed, salmon, spot prawns, and more.

Chef comes full-circle

The executive chef tasked with leading the restaurant back to its former glory is one who saw those days firsthand: Melissa Craig began her career at Sooke Harbour House as an 18-year-old apprentice in the late 1990s, before going on to win top chef at the Canadian Culinary Championships.

Read more about the restaurant and plans at Tasting Victoria.

SPONSORED BY TELUS

TELUS' Community Partnerships

TELUS' partnership with Jeneece Place supports important housing programs that make life a little easier for Vancouver Island families and children during challenging times.

At TELUS, we're proud of our community partnerships that support housing programs for communities across B.C. Click here to learn more.

⭐️ Capital Picks

🐛 A “gargantuous caterpillar” found on the Nanoose bike trails. [Facebook photo]

🍄 Mushrooms growing out of a pine cone on Salt Spring. [Photo]

🌾 Hear the new EP from Victoria country-bluegrass artist Bella White:

🥡 Late-night eats in Victoria, and where to find them. [Tasting Victoria]

🤝 Now hiring: Display technician at the Butchart Gardens.

🗞️ In Other News

Mechanical troubles delay Coastal Celebration on both Sat. & Sun.
Delays dominoed well into Saturday after beginning with an early engine issue on the Celebration ferry—one of the ferries that was grounded for repairs at points during last year's busy summer. Then yesterday, a water leak on a separate engine prevented its 8am & 10am sailings, but it was back for the 2pm sailing. [Times Colonist]

Saturday was Victoria’s wettest day since January
The 20.2mm of precipitation was also the most on an August day since 2005. [YYJ Weather Records]

A penthouse on a penthouse for local peregrine falcons
A nesting pair has been landing on the rooftop of the Promontory residential tower in the Songhees, so one resident has built them a condo in hopes of getting them to settle there. The birds have a new child, but local bird experts haven't yet found which tall local building the typically cliff-dwelling raptors have nested on. [Times Colonist]

Remediation planned for ‘dump’ at century-old mine site
Saskatchewan Resources, a Vancouver mining company, aims to refine waste rock on Skw’aakw’unu / Mount Sicker. It's in talks with North Cowichan and Cowichan Tribes, and says that many hazards remain where former mines were abandoned. [My Cowichan Valley Now]

🗓️ Things to do

 4️⃣ Four Friends Having Fun is an art show & sale at the ArtSea Gallery in Sidney: Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 10am-4pm daily. [Info]

🪕 Daniel Cook & the Radiators play in Beacon Hill today (1:30-3:30pm).

📆 Making plans this week? Subscribe to This Week In Vic to get the full list of what’s going on, summarized in a weekly newsletter.

👀 In Case You Missed It

Plastic pickup pilot: CRD is now picking up grocery bags and other soft plastics at some buildings. [Aug. 25]

No more last names in missing-person alerts from Saanich PD, in an effort to protect privacy. [CBC]

Moonrise over Cadboro Bay in these photos from reader Cecille Guillemot.

The mountainous beauty of Woss, located in the northeast Island. [willow.photography]

Final resting place of a bee on a flower. [Facebook photo]

Eviction notice length rolled back by a BC gov. policy change on Aug. 21, from 4 to 3 months for homebuyers. For current landlords, timeline remains 4 months. [CBC]

Shamrocks sweep series to advance to national lacrosse final. See Victoria's regional-championship-winning game highlights below.

That’s it!