Construction of Ontario’s first municipal biodigester is expected to begin this fall.
Officials gathered in the rain Friday for a soggy groundbreaking ceremony at the Georgian Bluffs Sewage Lagoon near Kilsyth.
The joint project between Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth has been almost four years in the making now.
Chatsworth Mayor Howard Greig says they had to make various funding applications before they were successful and received two-thirds of the 2.25 million dollar cost from the Building Canada Fund.
The remaining 850-thousand will be split between Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth.
Greig explains the biodigester will treat septage, agricultural waste, and biosolids to produce biogas and electric power.
He says it’s great news for Chatsworth since the municipality currently has limited ability to treat or dispose of raw septage.
He also says it’s great news for the local agriculture industry because the system will be able to accept waste byproducts that currently have limited value, such as
cornstalks.
Abattoir waste and cooking oils from restaurants will also be accepted.
Georgian Bluffs Mayor Alan Barfoot says the municipalities are being proactive and providing another option for local farmers.
The province has announced coming rules that mean septic sludge can no longer be sprayed on fields without processing.
Barfoot says the biodigester will produce an odourless compost that can be used as fertilizer.
The system will also produce electricity, contributing one hundred kilowatts to the grid.
Barfoot says while biodigesters are common in Europe, they haven’t found any that treat raw septage – meaning this project could be a world first.
Tenders for the project will close in November and the work is expected to be completed by next September.