After years of engineering studies, public consultation and debate over where the Village of Daajing Giids should build its long-awaited wastewater treatment plant, council has selected Smith Point East as the preferred site.
The decision, announced this week, marks a significant milestone for one of the largest and most expensive infrastructure projects in the community's history. Council made the decision during an in-camera meeting on July 22 and publicly reported it during Monday night's regular council meeting.
The Village says Smith Point East was chosen because it offered the strongest overall balance of affordability, constructability, environmental considerations and long-term value.
According to the Village, the site requires the shortest pipeline route, reducing both construction and long-term operating costs while making use of the existing marine outfall. Officials also noted the location avoids the loss of existing housing, would result in the least disruption to the community during construction and lies outside identified tsunami inundation and flood hazard areas.
Updated engineering estimates also showed Smith Point East to be the least expensive of the four remaining options. Urban Systems estimated construction costs between $25 million and $39 million, compared with $28 million to $42 million for the 8th Street option, $30 million to $46 million for West Area 3, and $38 million to $57 million for a regional connection to the Skidegate wastewater treatment plant. Smith Point East also carried the lowest projected annual operating costs and the lowest estimated 40-year lifecycle cost.
Mayor Lisa Pineault said the decision moves the Village one step closer to replacing an aging wastewater system that has discharged untreated sewage into Skidegate Inlet for decades.
"This facility has been needed to complete our collection and conveyancing system for the past 40 years," Pineault said in a Village news release.
She also thanked the Skidegate Band Council for allowing its wastewater treatment facility to be considered as part of the evaluation process.
The project is being driven by a federal Fisheries Act order requiring Daajing Giids to have a compliant wastewater treatment system operating by Dec. 31, 2030. Failure to meet that deadline could expose the Village to enforcement action and significant penalties.
While construction of the treatment plant remains several years away, council has already begun advancing other wastewater infrastructure. At its July 27 meeting, council approved moving ahead with the design phase of a west-end sewer servicing project that could eventually connect approximately 18 properties. Mayor Pineault said the work to rehabilitate the existing sewer conveyance line does not have to wait for the new treatment plant. The Village will contact affected property owners to gauge interest in connecting, while council will determine connection and latecomer fees at a later date.
The Village will now move into the next phase of the treatment plant project, including detailed engineering, environmental studies, permitting, land acquisition or tenure negotiations where required, and continued consultation with the Haida Nation, neighbouring property owners and the wider community. Officials say they will also continue pursuing senior government funding to reduce the financial burden on local taxpayers as the project advances toward construction.