A Winnipeg councillor is calling on the province to use its powers under the Environment Act to require the city to use more innovative and green technology solutions as it overhauls its sewage system.

In a letter to Manitoba Environment Minister Mike Moyes, Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) asked whether the province is enforcing a clause in the environmental licence for combined sewer overflows that requires the city to use “green technology and innovative practices” when designing and building new sewage infrastructure. 

“If the city is not implementing measures to meet the ‘green technology’ and ‘innovative practices’ requirements, it is important to understand how the province interprets these terms and how compliance … is being evaluated and enforced,” Mayes wrote. 

“The mandatory wording of the licence suggests these provisions are not discretionary.”

Winnipeg is in the early stages of a 70-year master plan to reduce combined sewer overflows — a phenomenon where diluted raw sewage is released into the city’s rivers during heavy rain or spring melts — by separating runoff and household sewage pipes where possible and installing rainwater storage and screening infrastructure across the sewage system. 

Addressing the issue has been long overdue. Between 2013 and 2023, the city dumped 115 billion litres of sewage into its river system.

The city has set aside about 10 per cent of the capital budget for these upgrades to “review and implement” green infrastructure solutions such as rain gardens, permeable pavements and retention ponds.

While Mayes said he appreciates the nearly $105 million the city plans to spend, he believes Winnipeg “really could be doing more.”

“We can’t just keep building these concrete solutions,” Mayes said in an interview.

“It’s good that we’re trying to reduce raw sewage going into the rivers. That is a good thing, I am proud of that. I think if we can do some of it in a more environmentally friendly way, then that’s a victory.” 

Mayes said he asked city staff about the requirement after Winnipeg announced a pilot project to build catch basins — essentially storm drains — in areas of the city with combined sewers. 

At a February meeting of council’s waste and water committee, department staff told councillors “there really isn’t an opportunity for green infrastructure” in the catch basin initiative and noted the city takes “a global approach” to green technology requirements.

“Our understanding of the intent of the clause was not so much that every piece of pipe put in the ground has to have a green component. It was that we need to prioritize overall getting more green infrastructure in our system,” department director Tim Shanks said during the meeting.

Mayes isn’t convinced the city’s approach satisfies the requirements laid out in the environment licence. He would like to see the province encourage the city to invest more in innovative solutions like green roofs and rain gardens that can both absorb and filter stormwater before it reaches the sewer system. 

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“We shouldn’t just forget about this,” Mayes said, suggesting the importance of the combined sewer master plan has been overshadowed by larger, more expensive infrastructure projects like the upgrades to the North End water treatment plant.

“Anything we can do to reduce that sewage overflow risk, I think, is another step forward.”

Cities across North America have employed natural infrastructure solutions to reduce the amount of rainwater and runoff that enters the sewers, thereby reducing strain on aging pipes and reducing the frequency of sewer overflows.

In a statement, city communications coordinator Lisa Marquardson explained the city looks for green infrastructure opportunities in the preliminary design stage of its sewer projects. 

“If an option makes sense and is feasible, we carry it forward into detailed design and, where possible, into construction,” Marquardson said.

Recent successes include a retention pond in the Cockburn Calrossie drainage area in southwest Winnipeg and the implementation of Silva cells, underground structures filled with loosely packed soil capable of both retaining larger volumes of stormwater and supporting large tree growth in the northeast. The city has also planned a soil storage and boulevard rain garden project on Leila Avenue and a dry pond for water retention in the city’s north end. Further green infrastructure opportunities are currently being assessed in several sewer districts.

Marquardson said the city regularly updates the province on its combined sewer projects and “because [green infrastructure] and innovative practices are part of our standard approach … we have been able to provide these updates without issue.”

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the province said Manitoba has approved the city’s global approach, which “applies the green‑infrastructure requirement at the regional infrastructure level rather than a neighbourhood level,” adding the Environment Department regularly meets with the city to discuss progress toward the combined sewer overflow master plan. 

“Our government is committed to taking care of the environment and of our waterways in Manitoba,” Environment Minister Moyes said in a statement. 

“We are working with the city to make sure investments are made in smart, green infrastructure that protect our communities, homes and rivers.”

Julia-Simone Rutgers is a reporter covering environmental issues in Manitoba. Her position is part of a partnership between The Narwhal and the Winnipeg Free Press.