The Ashbridges Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant is the largest of its kind in Canada, handling the excretions of 1.2 million people. The 75-acre plant processes 600 million litres a day, almost double that during a heavy rainstorm.
Nearby the plant is Woodbine Beach, a popular destination year-round and one that also sometimes stinks.
“At least one day a week, I would say it smells down here,” said one man, who likened the odour to treated human waste. “It can definitely get quite strong. Sometimes you can smell it all the way up to Gerard (street).”
An equipment malfunction at the problem exacerbated the smell recently, and at least one city councillor is upset that local residents weren’t informed about the issue.
“I think this was a very bad event, and it was not managed well,” said Coun. Paula Fletcher, who is promising to tell people the next time the beach starts to stink.
“When you’re living beside a plant of that size, and something goes wrong, there’s a mechanical breakdown, there needs to be an immediate protocol that people know that this smell is something that’s gone on, gone wrong, how long it’s going to last, what steps are being taken and how the plant’s being run.”
The head of Toronto Water admits there was a communication breakdown.
“We had a few people away, and there was some human errors made with people filling in and not moving that information up the line,” said general manager Lou Di Gironimo. “So what happened earlier was the complaints coming to us rather than us being more proactive.”
Toronto has spent nearly $300 million over the past decade to reduce the amount of odour coming from the treatment plant, and is planning to spend an additional $2 billion in capital upgrades on the plant over the next decade. The water department says it is reviewing its communication strategy to ensure it doesn’t leave area residents wondering what the smell is.
