Population and Economic Activity

The Proportion of B.C. Coastal Population Served by Municipal Wastewater Treatment

		Treatment (% of population)
Location	Population with sewers	None	Preliminary	Primary	Secondary	Tertiary
Georgia Basin
1983	1,564,787	3.5	8.0	80.2	8.3	0.0
1989	1,828,476	2.1	7.7	76.7	13.3	0.1
1994	2,132,293	1.1	7.5	75.6	15.5	0.3
1999	2,365,802	0.3	8.5	36.2	54.5	0.5
Other Coastal Communities
1983	78,218	29.4	0.0	2.5	62.3	5.8
1989	75,473	30.9	0.0	0.0	62.5	6.6
1994	73,954	33.9	0.0	0.0	66.1	0.0
1999	75,307	24.6	0.0	0.0	75.4	0.0

In 1999, more than half of the Georgia Basin population and three-quarters of the population in other coastal communities had secondary sewage treatment.

Municipal sewage and sewer overflows are one of the largest point sources of pollution to Canadian waters. Depending on the level of treatment, sewage can carry nutrients and other substances, such as chlorine, motor oil, solvents, antifreeze, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals, into bodies of water. Raw sewage, such as from malfunctioning septic fields, also carries disease bacteria into the environment.

In coastal B.C.:

• The highest volume of sewage discharge on the B.C. coast is in the Georgia Basin, where daily volumes increased by over 60% between 1983 and 1999.

• There was a large increase in secondary treatment in the Georgia Basin in 1999 when the Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant was upgraded.

• About 25% of the coastal population outside of the Georgia Basin relies on septic systems.

• 8.5% of the Georgia Basin population, mainly in the core of the Capital Regional District (Victoria), is served by preliminary treatment only.

• 0.5% of B.C.’s coastal population was served by tertiary treatment. This compares to the national average, which is 40%.

For detailed information, including graph data, see In-Depth report.

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