The City will be hosting an open house and wetland tour to mark the B.C. Water and Waste Associations Water Week that is taking place from May 6 to 12.

The open house will provide information on the City’s sanitary lagoons and the wetland system at Western Acres.

All members of the public are encouraged to attend.

The event will take place on Thursday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Western Acres Wetlands.

“Our Water Week open house last year focused on how water gets to your tap, so this year we are focusing on what happens to water once it goes down the drain. Lagoons are important as they are a natural method of treating wastewater, meaning they are non-mechanical and non-chemical,” says Andrea Byrne, Environmental Assistant with the City of Prince George.

“This also means they require much less maintenance and cost much less to operate than a wastewater treatment facility. However, lagoons require much more space than modern treatment facilities, which isn’t always available in an urban environment given the significant volumes of wastewater created by a city.”

The city owns and operates five lagoons which treat approximately 4% of the city’s wastewater.

Photo Credit: City of Prince George

Including the Western Acres Wetlands, the city also operates:

• Danson Lagoon – Danson Industrial Park, corner of Boundary Rd and Willow Cale Rd
• BCR Lagoon – BCR Industrial Park, north end of Willow Cale Rd.
• Blackburn Lagoons – Foreman Rd.
• Shelley Lagoon – Shelley Rd. by the FFGRD Transfer Station

Staff from the Utilities and Environment Divisions will be at the open house to provide information and answer any questions about the lagoon wetland system.  

Visit the City of Prince George website for more information.