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RECORD PHOTO BY
AUSTIN GRABISH
Darryl Pohl and Kim Bracic say the cost they pay to have their sewage removed has skyrocketed in the last three weeks. |
By Austin Grabish, the Selkirk Record
A sewage lagoon in
Petersfield that’s filled to the brim is causing a stink for residents in St.
Andrews who say they now have to pay more than double what they did just three
weeks ago to have their sewage pumped away.
The lagoon, which is run
by the RM of St. Andrews, has reached capacity and has forced sewage haulers to
take their loads somewhere else, which is proving costly for residents and at
least one area business.
St. Andrews resident Darryl
Pohl said he had to switch sewage providers after the lagoon reached capacity
because his provider could no longer take his sewage to the lagoon.
He said the cost he pays
for a sewage pump has doubled when compared to what it was just three weeks
ago.
Pohl said a pump three
weeks ago would have cost him $70 and now that cost is $150.
Pohl and his wife Kim
Bracic normally get two – three pumps per month so the cost has a big hit on
his family of four, he said.
“If we continue forward I
have to pull my kids out of guitar lessons because that’s the cost a month I
have to do. I have no choice,” Pohl said.
Costs have increased because sewage haulers now have to take their
loads to the City of Winnipeg or a neighbouring municipality.
The City of Winnipeg
charges sewage companies a dumping fee and trucks must wait in line in addition
to traveling to the city, which doesn’t make financial sense, said Mike Murray
who owns Big Mike’s Septic Service.
Murray was servicing Pohl
and a slew of other residents in St. Andrews for the past several years, but
informed his customers he would no longer be their service provider after
finding out he couldn’t dump in Petersfield.
“It’s just not feasible
for me,” Murray said.
Murray said his business
has taken a huge hit in the last few weeks.
“It’s huge I’ve lost at
least 25 per cent if not more 30 per cent of my income,” Murray said.
Jay Jagath, the kitchen manager
at Ricky’s restaurant in Lockport, used Murray’s services and has been
scrambling to find a new provider because costs have risen dramatically in the
last month.
“It’s
double almost,” Jagath said.
Jagath
said the restaurant has had to use 70 per cent of its profit just to pay for
the increase in sewer bills.
“We cannot afford to pay
that much for sewage,” Jagath said.
“I’m not happy because it’s
not the right thing for us.”
He said he has been
shopping around for prices but so far every provider is more expensive than
what Murray was charging.
St. Andrews Mayor George
Pike said he is aware of the issues with the lagoon.
He said he found out the
lagoon had reached capacity 10 days after being elected as mayor.
Pike said the RM has been
working with the RM of St. Clements and the Village of Dunnottar so sewage can
be re-directed to lagoons in those municipalities, but Bracic said costs are
still too high.
“We’re basically paying
more now to remove our waste than we are to heat and light our house up,”
Bracic said.
The Record has learned the Petersfield lagoon filled up because sewage providers
from other municipalities were dumping in the lagoon and for free.
Pike confirmed a number of
haulers were dumping in the lagoon because no fee was ever charged.
“This caused the problem,”
Pike said.
The mayor wasn’t sure why
haulers have been allowed to dump for free, but said the RM of St. Andrews will
be launching an investigation into the matter.
“We’re going to review the
whole process and policy as soon as we get a better handle on it with the
province,” Pike said.
Bracic and Pohl want the
RM to give them a rebate on their property taxes for the extra costs they have
endured.
But Pike said the
municipality doesn’t have any plans to give rebates to customers.
“There’s never been any
discussion about that at this time,” Pike said.
The lagoon isn’t expected
to have a ‘relief’ until sometime in May.
“We can’t drain in the
winter time so we have to wait till spring,” Pike said.
Murray is skeptical the
lagoon will be able to keep up with demand after it is emptied.
“The lagoon out here is
very inadequate for the demand that’s on it,” Murray said.
Pohl said the RM of St.
Andrews should have known the lagoon would reach capacity given the rapid
development in St. Andrews in recent years.
“It’s not hard you do a
calculation based on volume and you figure it out.”
“Nobody did that.”
-- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition February 26, 2015 p.14
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