A month after being fined $13,000 for the use of a temporary outfall to the Fraser River over several years from its wastewater treatment facility, the British Columbia District of Hope is investing $700,000 to remove sludge from one of three lagoons connected to the facility.
Following a sediment blockage of the original outfall pipe, local officials installed the temporary outfall for the facility in 2017, around the same time district staff last desludged the lagoons. Use of the pipe, however, continued for years in the face of funding shortfalls.
District of Hope officials issued a statement in August to note that funding for a permanent outfall was included in the 2025 municipal budget, with planning, design, and environmental studies currently underway.
“Construction will begin as soon as possible,” the statement noted in response to the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Parks fine. “We remain committed to investing in our wastewater infrastructure to meet regulatory requirements and protect our environment.”
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According to the fine, the wastewater treatment facility (or pollution control centre) has three aerated lagoons, two dissolved air flotation filters, and a submerged outfall with diffusers extending a minimum of 22 metres offshore and discharging to a depth approximately 2.6 metres below the low water mark.
During a ministry inspection in January 2025, ministry staff observed that the exit point of the temporary outfall was above the low water mark of the Fraser River.
Later in August 2025, after issuing a statement about the outfall fine, District of Hope staff say they suspected that an “overdose of polymer” — the chemical used to help remove solids from the effluent — combined with an excess of sludge in the lagoon, left staff unable to filter the effluent effectively. The sludge had nearly reached the surface of the water.
According to a September 2 operations staff report, the district implemented an emergency bypass of the lagoon at the recommendation of a wastewater expert.
Hope Council had previously approved $300,000 in the 2025 budget for the removal and disposal of the stored sludge, which is set to be transported to a landfill in Alberta.
