No more sludge

Stratford hopes to commission new wastewater system by February

“We’re going to de-water the system. In the spring, we’ll actually start to in-fill the lagoon system. By summer, you’ll see grass growing in that area.” Jeremy Crosby

STRATFORD – The town has started the commissioning process of its new wastewater collection system now that the sludge has been removed from its lagoon.

The system, which will carry Stratford's wastewater to Charlottetown's pollution control plant, is replacing the existing lagoon near the Hillsborough Bridge. Infrastructure director Jeremy Crosby said once the wastewater flow is transferred to the new system, they'll continue decommissioning the lagoon.

"We're going to de-water the system. In the spring, we'll actually start to in-fill the lagoon system," he said. "By summer, you'll see grass growing in that area."

The process has seen several delays mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions preventing workers from New Brunswick travelling to the Island. During a Stratford council meeting in September, Crosby was hopeful to be turning the pumps on by late October.

"(So) it's a real fluid situation," he told The Guardian recently.

Two of the buildings at the lagoon site will remain – one of which is the pump control station – while the other four will be dismantled, which includes the Blue Frog structures typically seen floating in the lagoon.

The town has been working to replace the lagoon for the past 16 years, town Coun. Gary Clow said.

"Every spring we had an odour there that wasn't very nice," he said. "Soon, that's gone."