Hurricane Dorian has knocked Lunenburg’s Wastewater treatment plan offline.
As a result, the town’s wastewater is being dumped directly into the harbour.
The high wind and rain caused flooding, and in order to protect workers and equipment the plant was shut down.
Mayor Rachel Bailey says this has never happened before.
“We’ve gone to great lengths to be prepared, as everyone else has for the hurricane. But this was basically an unanticipated, unfortunate incident.”
Bailey says the appropriate authorities have been notified.
“We’re working with those experts, and electricians and environmental experts to determine the extent of the damage to our equipment and the system.”
Bailey says there’s no word yet when the plant will be operational.
She says crews are assessing the damage and are working to get it up and running as soon as possible.
In the meantime, she asks residents to be conscious of what they are putting in their toilets.
LUNENBURG WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT DAMAGED BY HURRICANE DORIAN – SEP. 9, 2019
The Town of Lunenburg’s Wastewater Treatment Plant was flooded by seawater during Hurricane Dorian late Saturday afternoon. https://t.co/vnuXdVvL7p
— Town of Lunenburg, NS (@TownLunenburgNS) September 9, 2019
Reported by: Ed Halverson
Twitter: @edwardhalverson
E-mail: halverson.ed@radioabl.ca
