Environmental Trends 2007

Population and Economic Activity

Municipal Wastewater Treatment in British Columbia

The purpose of wastewater treatment is to protect human health and reduce stress on the environment. The level of treatment used by a municipality is an indicator of the amount of pollutants discharged to the environment in sewage effluent.

There was a large increase in proportion of the B.C. population with secondary treatment in 1999, when the Annacis Island and Lulu treatment plants were upgraded.

Sources: 2004 data: Environment Canada 2005a; 1983-99 data: Environment Canada, Municipal Water Use Database (MUD) and BCMWLAP 2001.

For detailed information, including graph data, see In-Depth Report [pdf].

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