Water treatment plant maintenance will likely cause odour in Hamilton’s east end

There’ll be a “high possibility” of an odour while work is carried out on one of Hamilton’s wastewater treatment plants.

The wastewater treatment plant on Woodward Avenue will be undergoing maintenance on Monday.

During that time, Councillor Tammy Hwang says vital work will be carried out on the plant’s digester — a component within the treatment centre that utilizes naturally occurring microorganisms to break down organic materials into methane and carbon dioxide.

“Although every effort has been made to minimize odours from work on the digester, there will be a high possibility of odours in the area,” reads a post on the councillor’s Instagram page.

The maintenance comes as part of the city’s ongoing work to upgrade the facility.

READ MORE: Hamilton completes expansion of main wastewater treatment plant

In November, the city completed several expansions at the Woodward Wastewater Treatment Plant through Hamilton’s Clean Harbour Program.

Those upgrades were part of a multi-phase, multi-year process spanning back to 2008.

To date, $530 million has been committed to the program — $340 million of which has been set aside for upgrades at the plant.

The Woodward Wastewater Treatment Plant is Hamilton’s main wastewater treatment facility, cleaning approximately 96 per cent of the city’s total wastewater.