Image: Leq'á:mel Development Corporation and YieldBridge Industries Ltd.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Regional septage facility

Regional septage facility being considered in Chilliwack

Mar 11, 2025 | 9:37 AM

CHILLIWACK — A regional septage facility could be constructed on reserve land just north of Highway 1 in Chilliwack.

According to a PowerPoint slide presentation from Monday night’s District of Hope council meeting, Leq’á:mel Development Corporation and YieldBridge Industries Ltd. provided an overview outlining the proposed septage and biosolids processing facility.

Two locations are being envisioned for the project, including Lackaway Indian Reserve No. 2, located west of Lickman Road and north of Industrial Way, and Papekwatchin, located north of the Fraser River and southwest of Deroche.

Image: Google Maps / Lackaway Indian Reserve No. 2 (in red, centre) is being considered as a possible location for a regional septage/biosolids processing facility.

The proposed facility would be a completely “holistic” liquid waste handling system capable of dewatering and drying and would result in solids recovery for beneficial use. For example, liquid waste would be converted into liquid waste, followed by damp waste and eventually, dry solids.

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Liquid waste input and processing outputs.

The dry solids could be repurposed into fertilizer containing high energy content, or suitable for cement kiln fuel.

Image: Leq’á:mel Development Corporation and YieldBridge Industries Ltd.

According to Monday night’s presentation, existing septage receiving and treating facilities will eventually reach capacity given the amount of ongoing residential and commercial growth in the Fraser Valley. Leq’á:mel and YieldBridge claim there has been no visible planning to expand these facilities to meet growing demand. Traditionally, they claim, existing municipal facilities accepted septage from their own tax base as well as from electoral areas A through H, encompassing a broad region from Mission in the northwest to Sunshine Valley in the southeast, as well as numerous First Nations, construction sites, Trans Mountain Expansion work camps and other remote locations requiring septic services.

About a year before it began limiting access only to their taxpayers in November 2023, Leq’á:mel and YieldBridge claim FVRD and their represented municipalities advised trucking liquid waste companies of their plan to deny access to non-taxpayers. Admittedly, while the decision did alleviate capacity pressure on the municipalities and facilitated additional time for future expansion planning, it meant those who were impacted the decision had to find independent solutions to meet their needs.

However, FVRD has since set the record straight with the following information:

“About a year before it began limiting access only to their taxpayers in November 2023, the City of Chilliwack advised trucking liquid waste companies of their plan to deny access to non-taxpayers. Admittedly, the decision did alleviate capacity pressure on the municipalities and facilitated additional time for future expansion planning, it meant those who were impacted the decision had to find independent solutions to meet their needs,” FVRD said.

The City of Chilliwack advised the FVRD and private haulers in the summer of 2022, that the City of Chilliwack wastewater treatment plan would no longer accept trucked liquid waste from outside of Chilliwack boundaries beginning October 2023. FVRD says its small community sewer systems do not have the capability of accepting trucked liquid waste; that FVRD operates six sewer systems in its eight electoral areas, and serves approximately 1,250 properties. The remainder and the bulk of the properties are on private septic systems with no opportunities to connect to FVRD systems, representing about 4,000 properties. An FVRD spokesperson says many rural properties have septic systems, which are authorized by Fraser Health Authority. The FVRD has no service area or authority over private sanitary sewer systems. Additionally, the JAMES (or Joint Abbotsford Mission Environment Systems Wastewater Treatment Plan) in Abbotsford stopped accepting commercial septage in 2021, and facilities in other member municipalities did not have the capacity or permitting to accept trucked liquid waste.

According to Leq’á:mel and YieldBridge, statistical data from trucked liquid waste trucking companies operating in electoral areas A-H indicate they collect in excess of 17 million gallons of liquid waste annually, which doesn’t include significant amounts from construction sites, remote work camps and the like. When dewatered, this translates to more than 2.5 million gallons of solid waste. Currently, these truckers must bring this waste outside the region and can generate tipping fees up to three times, in addition to added transport costs. The companies suggest this ongoing issue requires an immediate resolution because neglecting to address this represents substantial risks like potential infrastructure damage, overflow, illegal dumping, and other environmental hazards. The problem is expected to worsen due to ongoing regional and rural housing expansions.

Compared to the alternative location proposed for southwest of Deroche, the Chilliwack location as proposed would have a reduced trucking time and distance, resulting in lower greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints, while keeping traffic away from more urbanized areas. Further, the Chilliwack location is already within an industrial area, contains heavy truck access, boasts close proximity to the Fraser River for treated (potable or non-potable) liquid phase discharge, has no residential neighbours, and could expand one day as needed.

Image: Leq’á:mel Development Corporation and YieldBridge Industries Ltd.