The city still needs people to stop sending unnecessary water down drains as it tackles flooding at the sewage treatment plant.
All seven temporary pumps are in place with an 80-megalitre capacity. But the Atlantic Avenue sewage treatment plant still has about 10 feet of water in the operation side of the plant, making it impossible for crews to go in and find the breach that filled the three storey underground facility Monday morning.
The city is hoping to have drained the water to about at least a foot so that the damage can be assessed.
“We hope that we will actually have a plan by 10 (a.m. Thursday) in terms of how to gain access to those portions of the plant in order to do it safe,” city infrastructure and operations manager Darrell Matson said Wednesday morning.
Until then, any water sent down a drain is still impacting people in places like the East End.
“We need to reduce the level of water in the sewers to help them because the water that they’re pumping out today continues to seep in because the level of the sewers it too high,” Matson said.
There are nine locations in the city’s combined sewage and storm water system that are being pumped into waterways currently.
Matson said while there would be some sewage in what’s being pumped, it’s mostly water.
”It’s closely supervised and we are sampling and again it’s done under direction and support by the ministry of the environment,” he said.
Starting Wednesday, the city has removed bag limits on garbage for people in flood areas. Those bags will be picked up during regularly scheduled days. There’s also now a large collection service.
“If you’ve got things in your basement that have been damaged and are no longer of value you can put them out to your curb call 625-2195 and the city of Thunder Bay will come and get them,” Matson said.
As for people sending water from basements out into the street, Matson said based on inspections it doesn’t appear that there’s any health hazard at this time.
“We would say no. We’re monitoring it carefully. We have the ministry of the environment working with us as well as the Thunder Bay district health unit,” he said.
