The spokesperson for a group of neighbours from the Dividend Ridge subdivision who complained last summer about a plan to dump excess effluent from the town’s effluent ponds to a sandpit on the south end of the Desert Park racetrack facility returned to town council Monday to voice his concern about the town’s plan to order more than a dozen high-pressure sprinklers to disperse of excess effluent on the infield at Desert Park.

Craig Nairn told members of town council Monday that while neighbours remain very pleased with the underground concrete infiltration basin that was built to handle the excess effluent from the effluent ponds earlier this year, he’s worried that 14 high-pressure sprinklers ordered by the town to disperse effluent at Desert Park aren’t necessary.

Dividend Ridge neighbours were very upset last fall when town staff told members of council that two effluent storage ponds near the town’s landfill site were almost full to capacity and 165,000 cubic metres of effluent would have to be moved.

A staff report suggested piping the excess effluent to a sandpit on the south end of the Desert Park property. But those plans changed when several neighbours voiced their concerns about the potential for foul odours and mosquitoes as the sandpit is located within close proximity of dozens of homes in the Dividend Ridge neighbourhood near the Osoyoos Golf Club.

After public meetings and a lot of debate, council voted to build a concrete infiltration system to handle the excess effluent, which was met with positive reaction from the neighbours.

Council was informed on Monday by Ron Doucette, the town’s director of operational services, that the effluent capacity problems at the storage ponds is no longer a problem as capacity has dropped by 90,000 cubic metres from last year.

This storage basin was designed to handle excess effluent when the storage ponds are near capacity in emergency situations like last year and excess effluent hasn’t been dumped there in months, said Doucette.

While the neighbours appreciate the solution to last year’s problems, he doesn’t think ordering 14 high-pressure sprinklers to spray effluent at Desert Park, which has been taking place for years, is a good idea, said Nairn.

Each of the 14 sprinklers can spit out 64 gallons of effluent per minute, which would fill a small swimming pool once every 11 minutes, said Nairn.

Mayor Stu Wells said management from the Desert Park Exhibition Society are looking at “cleaning and greening” the southern part of the park and do require large amounts of untreated water.

Wells said he appreciated Nairn coming forward again to voice his concerns as the town hasn’t awarded the tender in relation to the new sprinklers at Desert Park.The town is also committed to running new pipelines to disperse excess effluent out near the Osoyoos Airport and up behind Osoyoos Secondary School near the Osoyoos Golf Course, he said.

Nairn said he understands there’s still a need to disperse effluent at Desert Park, but he doesn’t believe using 14 huge sprinklers at the same time is necessary.

“You would be dumping roughly 3,000 cubic metres per day if you used all 14,” he said.

Coun. Sue McKortoff said she also appreciated Nairn’s concerns and said staff and members of council can look at the intensity of these new sprinklers before awarding any final tender contract.

Chief administrative officer Barry Romanko agreed council can look at the intensity of spraying effluent at Desert Park, adding there has never been any intention to spray 24 hours a day with the old or new sprinklers.

Wells said council will consider Nairn’s concerns before granting the final tender on these sprinklers. Nairn thanked members of council for listening to his concerns.

BY KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times