At a Metro Vancouver open house Thursday night (Oct. 24) approximately 25 Vancouverites offered feedback on proposed plans for the Highbury interceptor air management facility slated for Musqueum Park in Dunbar-Southlands.
Many who came out to the meeting in the basement of Marineview Chapel expressed concerns to engineers about possible light and noise pollution of the facility.
The interceptor is a large underground pipe, built in the 1960s, that moves most of Vancouver’s wastewater along Highbury Street and out to the Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Richmond.
Simon So, general manager of Liquid Waste Services for Metro Vancouver said over the last few years, odour complaints from residents who live along the tunnel route have increased, leading to the proposed facility.
“It is a very large diameter sewer, basically three metres in diameter, that conveys all of Vancouver’s sewage […] so during a normal daily cycle, where the flow within the pipe fluctuates, usually there are two peaks during the day, obviously one in the morning and one in the evening —that is the time most people use the washroom. So, every time the flow level goes up in the sewer there is a lot of air that needs to be expelled,” he said.
The proposed $5 million facility will have the footprint of the average 1.5 storey Vancouver house, and include a mechanical and control room with very large fans, pumps and other electrical equipment.
“The air itself will be treated, scrubbed through a [carbon] odour control tank,” said So. “When the air comes out it will be clean.”
Senior engineer Bob Cheng told the open house attendees that this facility will also extend the life of the pipe below because Hydrogen Sulfide is what causes the odour and when it becomes an acid, it corrodes the concrete and steel of the interceptor. Expelling the Sulfide will add years to the interceptor.
Also, included in the proposal is a public washroom. So said it is convenient to make the washroom at the same time given the Vancouver park board has identified this park as a high priority for a washroom due to the park’s heavy use for sports activities.
Vivian Bevis, who said she lives across from where the facility will be built, was one of the most vocal at the open house.
“It [the park] has always been a gem in the park system. It is a passive nature park and we value it as a wildlife corridor between the Fraser River through the Musqueam Park to Pacific Spirit. It is the only thing that has protected that corridor. Animals, birds, wildlife, they use that, therefore we have kept it... a nature park,” said Bevis, who has lived in the area since 1977.
She said she doesn’t like the idea of the lighting of the proposed washroom and the noise the fans in the facility may create—making the park less peaceful and quiet for animals and people.
Documentation provided by Metro Vancouver says the park is the best spot for the facility because it is a location where the interceptor is most accessible. In other areas, such as at 25th Ave., the tunnel can be up to 100 meters underground.
Two proposed styles for the facility were on display: one, a traditional “Field House” that looks like a log cabin and will blend into the environment and another a more contemporary, artistic option which will stand out as a park focal point.
Rob Ford also lives near the park, and liked what he heard at the open house. “It sounds good,” he said, adding he would prefer the “Field House” style, as it looks more rustic.
Construction is scheduled to start in the summer of 2014 and will likely be completed in the spring of 2015.
A second open house is planned for the spring of 2014 after input from this first one has been considered.
To learn more, go to .metrovancouver.org and search “Highbury Interceptor Air Management.”
