Toronto residents can now call 311 to report odour issues at this wastewater treatment plant

After a particularly foul-smelling incident in April, the City of Toronto is aiming to provide “improved transparency for residents” regarding the odour at one of its wastewater treatment plants.

Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant in the city’s east end is one of Canada’s oldest wastewater treatment facilities, and has been known for its odour issues in the past.

The City recently announced multiple new initiatives, including a new service request through 311 for plant or wastewater-related odour concerns, which the City says will help more effectively track, follow-up on, and communicate odour issues to residents and councillors.

The new initiatives comes in response to an incident in April when one of the plant’s primary treatment tanks was affected by a mechanical issue, requiring the tank to be taken out of service for nearly two weeks.

“During this period, odours in the surrounding area became more concentrated, resulting in complaints from nearby residents,” said a report that went to City Council in June.

Ward 14 councillor Paula Fletcher said she received many complaints from local residents who were upset with the smell, with some residents indicating that they attempted to call 311 for the issue but were confused on how to report it.

Until recently, the 311 system would handle general sewer odour reports, but did not feature a standalone service request for odours from the plant specifically.

“I would hope that Toronto Water knew that there had been a mechanical failure at ABTP and that nauseating odours were emanating from the plant and were settling over the east end air shed,” Fletcher wrote to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee.

“I am concerned that my office was not advised that there was a critical failure and a serious odour issue at the plant.”

Additional measures include Toronto Water strengthening its internal incident escalation and notification processes for when odour issues arise.

Planned capital investments, including primary tank refurbishments at Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant and a future odour control facility on Coxwell Avenue, are expected to further mitigate odour impacts in the surrounding community.

Located at 9 Leslie Street in east Toronto, the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant is one of Canada’s largest and oldest wastewater treatment plants.

The historic facility began operating in March 1913 and was designed to treat up to 150 million litres a day. Today, the plant serves almost 1.4 million people across the city and can treat up to 818 million litres of wastewater a day.

In addition to calling 311, residents can file a service request for various issues (such as noise complaints, pests, missed garbage collections, etc.) via the city’s website.