Odour may increase near treatment facility

Residents may notice more odours than normal this week in the area around the Westside Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Wednesday through Friday (May 12-14), new filtering materials will be installed in the Biofilter at the facility off Gellatly Road in West Kelowna.

“Wastewater treatment plants commonly use the open bed Biofilter to biologically treat odourous gases that are collected throughout the wastewater treatment process helping to reduce emissions of foul air. Following the installation, there may be periods of additional odour as it takes a few days to get the new Biofilter up to 100 per cent performance,” a news release from the Regional District of Central Okanagan stated.

In order to ensure optimum efficiency, the Biofilter material must be periodically replaced. This was last done in October 2018.

“The Regional District apologizes for any short-term inconvenience this important work may cause and will work as quickly as possible to minimize any potential impact,” Bruce Smith, Communications & Intergovernmental Affairs Officer, said.

In 2020, the facility received and treated an average of just over 11,700 cubic meters (11.7 million litres) of wastewater each day from businesses and households in West Kelowna, Peachland and Westbank First Nation Reserves #9 and #10.