Stratford sewage: Which option do you think is best?

Stratford town council will hold a public meeting Wednesday night to gather feedback from residents on the two options availableto deal with the town's sewage issue.

• Stratford to choose between 2 sewage options
• Stratford sewage can take bridge to Charlottetown

One option would be to pump the sewage to the Charlottetown Pollution Control plant through a pipe beneath the Hillsborough Bridge, which the town said would increase sewer rates by $215 a year to $544 from $329 for a single-family home.

It would cost $8.8 million to deliver the sewage to Charlottetown and an additional $7.5 million to upgrade the plant in Charlottetown.

The other option is to build a new plant in Stratford, which would result in a sewer-rate increase of $143 a year, the town said. The cost of the new plant would be about $15.2 million.

The same problem

Island Morning's Pat Martel asked some Stratford residents what they thought of the two options and which one they favoured.

Stratford resident Roberta Jay said it doesn't make sense to ship it over to Charlottetown.

"It's just going to be the same problem if goes to Charlottetown. If the wind goes the right way, it's going to be smelly for Charlottetown people."

Jay said regardless of cost, it's an issue that has to be addressed because it's only going to get worse. She added on some days the smell from the lagoons is quite bad.

Connie Petrie said the town should build itsown sewage system.

"Stratford has really grown in the last 15 years so why not have our own."

Beth Wilson said while it sounds logical to keep it here, she wonders if it is better to get rid of it by sending it to Charlottetown. Asked if keeping it the way it is was an option, she said, "That's been terrible. The smell is so bad sometimes."

Jenny Wen said while it might smell like bad eggs sometimes in Stratford, it was better than whereshe lived before.

"Here, the air is more fresher than China so I feel good."

Wen said she'd have to get more information before deciding which option she preferred.

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