Will the toilets work ? Yes - but it is going to cost and expect some road closures when the work is done

By Pepper Parr

October 24^th, 2023

BURLINGTON, ON

We live in very stressful times; the close to last thing people want to hear about is the population density of high rise towers that are going to be built around the Burlington GO station.

Getting the kids to their soccer games, figuring out how all that really expensive hockey equipment is going to be paid for and listening carefully where the elementary teachers are with their strike vote.

Add to that the condition of the mortgage on your house – something in the order of 35% of the variable rate mortgages are reported to be due for renewal in 2025, and most people take a pass on big housing development issues.

So the map set out below would be something that doesn’t matter to anyone living within the boundaries shown.

Those reds lines are where the sewer as it exists now will not be able to hand the flow from your toilet to the Water treatment facility in Lakeshore Road

That may not be completely true.  The red lines are for parts of the sanitary sewer system that is beneath the road on every street in the city.

If nothing happens when you press the lever – you will want to howl. The need for upgrades to the waste water treatment pipes is being worked out.

The red lines indicate parts of the waste sewage system that might not be able to handle the flow when all the development projects have been completed.

Some of the internal piping installed during the expansion to the Skyway Treatment plant on Lakeshore Road.

Will the toilets work?  Messy if they don’t – but they will.  The consultants brought in by the Region pointed out where the problems will crop up – they also gave a rough idea as to what it will cost and when the work will have to be done.  It is a complicated expensive process.

Aerial view of the Skyway Water Treatment plant. A lot of sophisticated technology – one of the sites where sewage is tested for Covid19