The City of St. Catharines is updating its Pollution Prevention and Control Plan (PPCP). This update will serve as an opportunity to summarize actions that have been completed and support long-term growth, sustainability, and management of the wastewater system.

Project History, Summary and Objectives

The St. Catharines sewer system currently experiences combined sewer overflows and basement flooding at some locations during intense wet weather periods. The City completed a Pollution Control Plan in 2008 to identify actions to help manage the sewer system and reduce overflows and basement flooding. It is now time to update the plan to reflect the improvements already made and to identify and prioritize the remaining projects / programs required to further reduce combined sewer overflows, protect against basement flooding and reduce pollution to local recreational water bodies.

St. Catharines’ existing Pollution Control Plan includes several recommendations aimed at reducing combined sewer overflows (CSO), including the removal of extraneous flows from roof downspouts, and the construction of several wastewater system upgrades.

CSOs can occur in a combined sewer system. A combined sewer system consists of one sewer that collects and transfers both sanitary wastewater and stormwater to a wastewater treatment plant. These systems were generally installed in the late 1800s to mid-1900s and were the best technology of the time.

During dry weather, these sewers transport all of the flow to a wastewater treatment plant. However, during large rainstorms, the volume of flow can exceed the capacity of the sewer system. When this happens, a portion of the flow is diverted away from the wastewater plant and untreated sewage, mixed with stormwater, is released directly into the environment. The diversions occur at a series of combined sewer overflow regulator chambers located along the combined sewer system. Strategically located combined sewer overflow regulators were designed to prevent basement flooding. These types of sewers have not been built in many years and modern sewer systems are designed with separate pipes for sewage and stormwater, without CSOs.

This PPCP update study will provide an opportunity to summarize actions implemented to date, quantify improvements to the sewer system since the previous PPCP, and re-evaluate alternatives to provide a long-term strategy for the management of the City’s wastewater system, which considers the relationships between environmental issues, wastewater infrastructure, and basement flooding.

How

This study is being undertaken as a Master Plan satisfying Phases One and Two of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (EA) under Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act. Master Plans are long-range plans which examine the current and future requirements of an infrastructure system using environmental assessment principles. Specific projects identified in the Master Plan may require additional Class EA planning and approvals before their implementation.

Phase One of the Class EA process focuses on the development of a problem / opportunity statement that identifies the opportunities and challenges to be addressed by the study.

Phase Two of the Class EA process addresses important technical questions that will guide the development and assessment of alternative water and wastewater servicing strategies.

Study Area

The study area includes the City’s entire sanitary and combined sewer system, the boundaries of which are shown in the figure below:

Get Involved

The City of St Catharines encourages residents and other stakeholders to actively participate in the review and update of the PPCP. Opportunities to be involved in the study will be advertised on the City’s website, in local newspapers, and notices will be mailed to stakeholders. When the study is completed, a PPCP report documenting the study process will be available for public review and comment.

Virtual Public Information Centre (PIC)

This PIC was hosted on Nov. 30, 2023, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. over Zoom.

View the meeting below:

The PIC was held to update residents on the study, highlight key findings regarding the PPCP Action plan, highlight the next steps in the plan, and provide the public with an opportunity to provide comments. The City gathered input on the proposed PPCP recommendations at the PIC.

Comments and questions can be sent directly to City staff via the tool found at the bottom of this page