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Sani-dump not leaking down the hill: Rizk

Some folks wondered about a bad smell and apparent run-off, but the town has checked. It’s OK.
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The sanidump is located right above the new ballfields and a caller wondered if effluent was running down from it to Centennial Park. Not so, says the town. (Lexi Bainas/Gazette)

A Lake Cowichan resident recently expressed concern that the sani-dump near Centennial Hall might be leaking.

The man, who did not wish to be identified, said the water running down the hill from it seemed to have a strong smell, and thought it must be coming from the dump site.

Lake Cowichan works superintendent Nagi Rizk said there is no sewage leak in that area.

“We’ve never encountered any leaks there,” he said Oct. 3. “I’ve heard about this though; someone called us about a bad smell. But I couldn’t smell anything and I brought that water in my bare hands right up to my nose twice. Then we took a water sample just to make sure. The test showed it was fine. I think it was there was too much runoff after the dry season, and it didn’t make much sense to them [people walking by]. They would have been asking themselves: why do we have so much runoff? So, immediately they looked up and saw the sani-dump and thought: oh, it’s leaking. But it wasn’t.”

Small springs and wet spots are fairly common around the community, he said.

“Down the bank when you stand by the sani-dump, more towards the skateboard park, you can see how wet it is. That bank has been seeping all year: summer time included. It just didn’t dry up at all. And we threw at it about $20,000 worth of extra drainage just to get rid of this extra water. The sani-dump is not leaking.”