Combined Sewer OverflowsLike most municipalities, the City of Ottawa has combined sewers in older areas of the City, which transport sewage and stormwater runoff in the same pipe. These older systems were designed to overflow when it rains to prevent flooding and basement backups. The following homepage provides details about sewage overflows into the Ottawa River by the City of Ottawa Combined Sewer System. Here you will find details about combined sewer overflows into the Ottawa River: what they are, why they occur and what the City is doing about them. CSO Storage EA and Functional Design ProjectThe City of Ottawa is conducting an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Functional Design to identify and develop a preferred solution that will provide additional storage facilities in the combined sewer area and thereby reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to the Ottawa River. This is one of seventeen short-term projects included in the City’s Ottawa River Action Plan. It is being conducted under the Municipal Class EA process. When implemented, the project will help to:
Why is the project needed?Currently, CSOs to the Ottawa River do not meet all provincial CSO control targets. The City’s Combined Sewer Area Pollution Prevention and Control Plan (PPCP) has identified that storage within the Ultimate Combined Sewer Area is the most cost effective way of further reducing CSO beyond the minimum regulatory requirements. How is the EA study being carried out?The EA study and consultation program will be undertaken to conform to the Municipal Class EA Phase 2 requirements. At this stage of the EA process, alternative solutions are being identified and a preferred solution will be selected, taking into account public and regulatory agency input. For more informationIf you would like your name added to the study’s mailing list, please contact: Louis Julien, Project Manager Loretta Hardwick, Project Consultant |
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