Stink from below Alex Fraser Bridge to be reduced by wastewater treatment plant upgrades
Metro Vancouver says the $550-million upgrades will include a new odour control system
For the thousands of commuters who drive across the Alex Fraser bridge every day, the journey can be a stinky one.
"It's pretty overwhelming, especially in the summer," said Cody Hehr, who lives in North Delta and crosses the bridge often.
"If you're going over the bridge on a hot, sunny day, that's all you can smell. And sometimes you're stuck there for an hour, right?"
The stench is caused by the Annacis Wastewater Treatment Plant just below the bridge, which serves 13 municipalities — about one million people.
But the plant is about to undergo a $550 million upgrade so it can serve an additional 250,000 people. And with that upgrade comes $20 million in a new odour control system, which hasn't been updated since the '90s.
The new system will capture odorous air at the plant and treat it chemically before releasing it.
Metro Vancouver says that will vastly improve the amount of odour that makes it to the bridge deck.
"I would not say a 100 per cent [improvement], but I would dare to say it would be probably about a 95 to 99 percent," said Simon So, general manager of liquid waste services at Metro Vancouver.
The improvements are good news for commuters like Hehr.
"Yeah, everyone who lives in Delta and works in the area will be thankful for that," he said.
The full upgrade is expected to be complete by 2019.