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FOR RESERVATIONS CALL 1-800-838-1789 168 CLARENCE ST., PORT COLBORNE, L3K 3G5T.I.C.O. #50007535OMCA Member www.casinocoach.ca www.frontlinetours.ca From Carpool Lot Guelph Line, North Service Rd EVERY SUN, TUES, THURS, FRI & SAT EVERY WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY Morning & Afternoon From Hopedale Mall PRICE INCLUDES NEW HST TAX w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , Se pt em be r 3 , 2 01 0 1 2 By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Town council passed an amendment to hire a third party engineer, Monday night, to examine the reportedly faulty sewage pumping system servicing 41 residences at the Woodington Lane condomini- um development. The amendment, which was brought forward by Ward 6 Councillor Max Khan, charged this engineer with determining the cause of the failures of the sewage pump, if the pump complies with the applicable Ontario legislature and what if any adverse conse- quences could take place as a result of the pumps deficien- cies. Council heard from 10 del- egations on the Woodington Lane sewage pump issue dur- ing Monday nights council meeting, most of whom were residents calling on the Town to resolve the problem, possi- bly by replacing the sewage pump. Many who spoke said fixing this problem is the Towns responsibility because it allowed the developer to install a sewage system they say is completely inadequate for the communitys needs. Residents say the pump, which is owned communally by the condominium corpora- tion, has required emergency servicing 23 times since they moved into their homes in 2005 and should never have been approved by the Town for installation. The inner workings and components of our pump have been almost completely replaced by us over the years in order to improve its opera- tion. Expenses from 2005 to 2009, shared among the homeowners, amount to about $74,000 on top of the expected and budgeted main- tenance expenses, said Steve Segal, group spokesperson. Because of backup sewage problems from the outset weve had to curtail the use of laundry, dishwashing, showers and toilet flushing three times in three years. Residents also said two homes have experienced sewage actually backing up and flooding into their base- ments. The residents did receive a $74,000 settlement from the developer and the design engi- neer last year to cover the cost of the repairs to the sewage system. Paul Travis, the service con- tractor hired to look after the sewage pumping system, told council the system is not large enough to deal with the num- ber of people it is servicing. The first thing I said when I saw it was, We have an issue with capacity. If we have a fail- ure of any kind we have no retention time, hence sewage builds up and backs up into basements. Thats the main gist of the situation that exists today, said Travis. The overall quality of the components used in the build- ing of this station is not in keeping with a multi-dwelling sewage pumping station. On average this station gets more call outs for service than all of the six privately owned sewage pumping stations that we cur- rently contract to service plus the municipal sewage stations throughout Oakville and Burlington that we also service. Travis said that because of the Woodington Lane sewage pumping stations size he estimates that in the event of a extended power failure (last- ing longer than 15 minutes) or severe mechanical failure at the station the basements of the homes in the condo- minium would be in danger of sewage backup. When Oakville Mayor Rob Burton asked the date of the last sewage back- up at the condominium, Travis stated there had not been a sewage backup at the development since he began to look after the system in December of 2006. Travis said three weeks ago one of the pumps at the station failed, howev- er, the stations second pump was able to take over. Residents have also voiced con- cerns about the possibility of environ- mental contamination and a methane gas explosion being caused by the pumping station. While Town staff said all proper procedures had been followed in the construction of the sewage system, leaving the Town free of liability, they did point out that they rely on the engineers hired by the developer to design such systems. This did not sit well with Khan, who was concerned no one from the Town had actually checked to see whether the pumping system was up to code. My concern here is I want to know what went wrong. I want to know if that pumping station is defi- cient, how it is deficient and what the consequences are as a result of those deficiencies and every time I ask what will the adverse consequences be Im told, Max dont worry about it, the Town is not liable, said Khan. Im not asking right now for this council to compensate these resi- dents, Im not asking for you to change the pumping station, Im not even asking you to take action against a third party. What Im saying is lets make an informed decisionlets see what the engineering report revealslets figure out whether or not there are deficiencies, lets figure out whether or not these people are in danger, lets figure out whether the surrounding area is in danger and then lets make a decision. Not all councillors were impressed. Ward 3 Councillor Keith Bird voiced concerns about using public money to examine a private sewage system. The cost of replacing the pumping station is estimated to be between $400,000 and $500,000. Town will look into condos sewage pump woesSpeak up! You can comment on any story in todays Oakville Beaver at oakvillebeaver.com.