Village of Harrison Hot Springs insists it doesn’t discharge untreated sewage into Harrison River, amid statements by former mayor

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Wood, who abruptly resigned as mayor in June 2024 and later ran unsuccessfully for a council seat in an ensuing by-election, said the capacity of the village’s waste water treatment had been exceeded. Wood said he was a retired certified water utility operator in B.C. and a licensed marine engineer. He asked why a sanitary sewage plant was built on the shore of “one of the most pristine lakes in the world.”

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His claims were published in the Agassiz-Harrison Observer on Friday, Dec. 26.

The village sought to set the record straight in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

“Local Media published a Letter to the Editor that asserted, through negligence, the Village of Harrison Hot Springs was compromising public health by discharging ‘hundreds of thousands of litres in sanitary sewage into the mouth of the Harrison River/Lake.’ This statement is entirely false,” the village wrote.

The village said no untreated wastewater was discharged at any time into the Harrison River or Harrison Lake.

“The heavy rains in December 2025 resulted in large amounts of storm water entering the Village’s sanitary system,” the village said. “As a result, the Village’s Wastewater Treatment Plan was operating at full capacity to minimize the impact to residential and commercial properties.”

The village went on to say that its municipal staff will be working in the coming months to address several identified locations of infiltration and inundation entering the sanitary sewer system. It said all waters that enter the sanitary sewer system are treated by its wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) before being discharged into the River, adding that the village operates its water treatment plant and WWTP in alignment with provincial guidelines and regulations.

Hours after the village’s statement was released through social media, Wood responded with a demand that Mayor Talen issue a retraction to clear his name.

Former Harrison mayor Ed Wood.

“I am writing to bring to your attention certain actions of yours that are causing serious harm to my personal and professional standing,” Wood said, asserting that the village’s statement earlier in the day constituted false and defamatory statements. “Your allegations are not only unfounded but constitute defamation. As the former mayor of the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, such baseless claims can have a severe impact on my career and standing within the community.”

Wood demanded in his email to city officials that Mayor Talen immediately cease and desist from making any additional false and damaging statements about him.

“Additionally, I insist that you issue a full and public apology for these false statements, and publish under public notices on the village website/facebook within 10 business days, and acknowledge that your previous allegations were indeed baseless,” Wood wrote in his email. “This apology should be given the same level of prominence as your initial defamatory statement, and it should explicitly state that your previous allegations were false and unfounded.”