A mystery of how sewage is being dumped into the Gorge Waterway has finally been solved. It's been determined that sewer lines from as many as 400 homes in Esquimalt could be draining into the Gorge - causing outbreaks of contamination in the waterway.
Now the municipality has to determine how bad the problem is and who should pay. One solution is for Esquimalt and the homeowners to share the costs. However it is going to cost an estimated $3 million and $13 million to fix the problem.
Esquimalt Councillor, Meagan Brame says extensive testing has been underway for many years to identify leaks, but more than that, the municipality and others dealing with the same issues, need to ensure this never happens again.
"We've been leading it, prior to many other regions. Oak Bay is going to have some of these issues, Saanich is going to have some of these issues. Anyone with old buildings is probably going to come across this."
During discussions, councillors indicated the cost would be split between the municipality and property owners, rather than either bearing the full financial burden.