3 ms·

Encountered it in Canada in the maritimes. Anywhere on the coast there were places that just had a pipe going straight into the ocean. Cafes, restaurants, you n

Encountered it in Canada in the maritimes. Anywhere on the coast there were places that just had a pipe going straight into the ocean. Cafes, restaurants, you name it. There were even portable toilets set up with the pipes so they never had to be pumped. I'm guessing they don't want to see tons of toilet paper floating in the ocean I guess, but excrement is not a problem? Maybe someone else has some better insight, for instance I know in the states if it rains too much and sewage backs up a bit, the beaches get closed. Do Canadians not see a problem with high bacteria levels? It's not an isolated thing and comes up often... Canadians just seem backward at sewage management[1][2]. [1] http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-dumping-raw-sewage-into-its-waterways/ http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-dumping-... [2] https://qz.com/545922/canadas-new-government-just-approved-dumping-raw-sewage-into-the-st-lawrence-river/ https://qz.com/545922/canadas-new-government-just-approved-d...

soperj 9y ago
Victoria BC dumps right in the ocean too, and there's no one who saves their tp for the dump.
- joecool1029 9y ago
  The only guess I have is that Victoria uses sewage pumps somewhere in their system that shoot it into the sewer. The maritime systems are literally just a pipe so maybe more prone to clogging?
- empressplay 9y ago
  The outfall goes a fair way out into the strait though, it's not like the sewage is dumped 50m off shore
sandywilkinscr 9y ago
For systems that pump to the sea, the waste is pumped to large enough distance from the shore that by the time it reaches the shore again (as determined by currents and who knows what else) it is sufficiently disintegrated and decomposed to not be harmful for swimmers on the beach. Remember this from my uncle who is an engineer and works in sewage systems design, construction, and maintenance. A distance I think he mentioned for a specific construction he was working on was 350 meters from shore, but this could be incorrect.

soperj 9y ago

Victoria BC dumps right in the ocean too, and there's no one who saves their tp for the dump.

joecool1029 9y ago
The only guess I have is that Victoria uses sewage pumps somewhere in their system that shoot it into the sewer. The maritime systems are literally just a pipe so maybe more prone to clogging?
empressplay 9y ago
The outfall goes a fair way out into the strait though, it's not like the sewage is dumped 50m off shore

sandywilkinscr 9y ago

For systems that pump to the sea, the waste is pumped to large enough distance from the shore that by the time it reaches the shore again (as determined by currents and who knows what else) it is sufficiently disintegrated and decomposed to not be harmful for swimmers on the beach. Remember this from my uncle who is an engineer and works in sewage systems design, construction, and maintenance. A distance I think he mentioned for a specific construction he was working on was 350 meters from shore, but this could be incorrect.