SEWAGE TREATMENT AND HALIFAX HARBOUR – WHERE ARE WE NOW?
For 253 years, raw sewage has been dumped into Halifax Harbour. At the present time the daily amount of sewage is equal to the volume of about 40 Olympic sized pools, or about 180 million litres. Many committees, commissions and panels have been appointed to address this problem over the past century. In 1924, a study identified the pollution problems related to sewage discharge and recommended a course of action. Different solutions to the problem have been heralded throughout the years. The problem, as it stands now, is a harbour with high bacterial levels, resulting in closure of public beaches and shell fishing grounds, raised levels of heavy metals, a plethora of visible floatables, and limited marine life, demonstrating a less-than-healthy harbour. During the late 1980’s, Halifax Harbour Clean-up Inc. (HHCI), was established to design a regional sewage treatment plan. The final recommended site for a primary sewage treatment plant was Ives Cove on McNabs Island. Sewage would be p
