It seems residents in the neighbourhood of Szawlowski Drive are at wits’ end. They experienced yet another sewage backup on August 29, which allegedly impacted seven homes in the neighbourhood.
The District of Muskoka, which is responsible for water and sewer services, dispatched a contractor to clean up the spill and said it is still investigating the exact cause.
“Although not yet confirmed, we expect that the cause is different than the previous occurrence in the area last year. As more information becomes available through the investigation, the District will take steps to address any areas of concern identified,” stated District Communications Officer Molly Ross in an email to Doppler.
Residents are upset with the turn of events. In email correspondence obtained by Doppler one of the residents is asking that the District reimburse the $2,000 insurance deductible they paid when a similar sewage back up occurred last October. They are also demanding that the District install a sewage backup valve to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“There are such things as simple as backflow preventers that don’t allow things to back up. They sort of will allow things to flow one way but not the other way and it would seem to me that that type of preventative measure would be appropriate, but again I’m not an engineer and I don’t know if it works in this circumstance,” said District Chair John Klinck.
Klinck said he understands the residents’ frustration and said he wasn’t pleased to hear that there was another sewage backup either. “We’ve got to find a way so obviously this doesn’t happen again… I’m looking for answers, I can tell you,” he said, adding that he still doesn’t know what went wrong, but has been told it was “some kind of a control switch.”
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If this issue is not remedied it can and will pollute the adjacent lake again. This is a major issue that our district councillors need to address on our behalf and further ensure the public that there will be no reoccurrences.
Protection of the environment at all costs is a priority.
Dear Rob,
We included the official statement from staff through the District Communications Officer. She states that staff is still investigating the incident. She also states that, although unconfirmed, staff does not think the failure was caused by the same issue as last October. We await the results of the investigation and have asked for updates as they arise.
As for whether the District Chair’s opinion is relevant? He is tasked with representing the interests of the people in this region, so what he says should and does matter.
As always, thank you for your opinion.
Why would anyone be interested in Mr. Klinck’s opinion? All queries should be addressed to either the District Engineer or the Director of Water and Sewer. Unfortunately, although it escapes being “fake news” (to which our friends to the south are so devoted); it is, however, “non-news”.
What about a new water treatment plant??
They pay taxes so fix it and reimburse them for their costs. …..Common sense works here !