Tofino, B.C., to stop discharging untreated sewage into the ocean

A popular tourist destination on Vancouver Island will now be able to stop discharging untreated waste into the Pacific Ocean. 

The District of Tofino opened its first wastewater treatment plant Thursday, with officials calling it a "major milestone" for the community of around 2,500 people. The facility, which took around two years to build, will enable the district to end its decades-long practice of sending raw sewage into the ocean. 

"It's our privilege to live in this place and anyone who's lived in Tofino for even a minute knows just how important it is to take care of this place," Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA Josie Osborne said during the plant's opening ceremony. She previously served as Tofino's mayor in the early days of the project.

"I almost can't believe that this day has arrived and we used to talk about this so much."

The plant is the largest capital project in Tofino's history, officials said. It ultimately cost close to $80 million, with the district receiving two rounds of funding from the provincial and federal governments. 

B.C. and Ottawa first provided around $40 million for the project, which was initially budgeted to cost $55 million. But this proved to be too low, after Tofino received construction bids during the pandemic that were much higher than anticipated.

In early 2022, the district had to revise the expected cost to almost $78 million. A year later, the federal and provincial governments announced that they provided over $12.5 million more to support the project. 

During Thursday's opening ceremony, Gord Johns, MP for Courtenay-Alberni, said the facility was long overdue.

"We have decades where we couldn't get money, we're just too far from Ottawa," Johns said. "So it's our turn on this project. … This is our priority, protecting the oceans and the ecosystems."

The full package

Laurie Hannah, who has lived in Tofino since 1998, told CBC News that the treatment plant will be good for residents and visitors, especially those who like to surf in the area. She said this issue is top of mind due to her role as the executive director of the Westcoast Community Resources Society, which focuses on "promoting wellness in the community." 

"It feels good to see different levels of governments step up to finally bring the infrastructure to the community," Hannah said. 

She added that the region is also known for environmental activism, including logging protests in Clayoquot Sound  in the 1980s and 1990s that became known as the "War in the Woods." She views the district's previous discharge of untreated sewage into the ocean as a "contradiction" that is finally being fixed.  

"We're finally in this place of doing the full package," she said. 

Dan Lewis, who helped organize the War in the Woods protests and is now the executive director of the environment protection organization Clayoquot Action, told CBC News that he's thrilled about the treatment plant. 

"There's just no reason to be dumping raw sewage into a biosphere reserve, so we're pretty darn happy," Lewis said.