Ski Resort Sewage Concerns

The sewage treatment plant at Silver Star Mountain Resort is a privately owned and operated facility, which was constructed in the early 1980's.  See the photo below for an aerial view of the sewage lagoons. 

 

 Aerial photo of sewage treatment lagoons at Silver Star Resort

Sewage Treament Facility Reaches Capacity in 2002

Since the sewage treament facility was constructed in the early 1980's, many hotels, condominiums, and vacation homes have been developed in the Silver Star village area. Obtaining an accurate estimate of the current number of beds on the mountain is difficult, but as of October 2008, it is likely between four and five thousand. A December 2000 article in Ski Canada Magazine stated the number of bed units as 3200 with a proposed build-out of 8000 under their current Master Plan.

In the photo above, you can see four lagoons, with the largest one at lower left being unlined, so that the treated effluent is allowed to exfiltrate to groundwater. When the lagoons were first constructed, and for several years after, this exfiltration lagoon was able to handle all the sewage effluent flow coming from the ski resort. A monitoring system was set up around the lagoons, with test wells and surface waters being tested on a quarterly basis to determine the effects on groundwater and local streams.

By 2002 however, a critical stage had been reached. Increased sewage volumes from the ski resort, combined with reduced exfiltration capacity of the large lagoon (due to clogging with solids) resulted in the lagoon filling up to a critical level every year. Some way of emptying the lagoon had to be devised to prevent it from overflowing.

The sewage utility proposed establishing an effluent irrigation program in the summers, which would involve spraying effluent from the large lagoon onto the lands surrounding the treatment plant. A test program was carried out in the Fall of 2002, and a full irrigation program was established in the summer of 2003. A total of 6.6 hectares (16 acres) is now irrigated each summer. Irrigation normally begins in early June and continues until mid-October, depending on the weather.

Effluent irrigation area near the sewage lagoons at Silver Star

 

        Sprinklers in the Phase I Effluent Irrigation Area 

 

Phase 1 (1.8 hectares) and Phase 2 (4.8 hectares) effluent irrigation areas near the sewage treatment lagoons.