Wastewater Services

Sewer Treatment Facility

The wastewater treatment facility is a membrane biological reactor facility located on the east side of town. The treated sludge from the facility is reclaimed and used in non-agriculture industries. The quality of the wastewater discharged from the facility is monitored by Alberta Environment and all high quality treated effluent flows into the Vermilion River.

Municipal Sewer System

Gravity-fed System

The wastewater system in Vermilion is a gravity-fed system. The service line from your home connects to the main at a downward angle allowing the wastewater to flow by way of gravity. Inside your premises, you will have a cleanout which is an access point on your service line that allows a plumber to clear debris if the line is clogged.

Sewer Back Up

A sewer back up is caused by a blockage in the sewer line. If your sewer service backs up, immediately contact a local plumbing contractor. The plumber may be able to clean out any build-up or obstruction in the line, restoring your sewer service. The most common causes of a back up are tree roots, grease buildup, frozen lines, a sag in the line or a broken pipe, or debris.

Roots can easily infiltrate a clay tile sewer line and quickly fill up the pipe. Some tree roots can continue to grow even after a tree has been cut down to the stump. If the plumber finds traces of roots when cleaning out your line, give us a call and we can further assist you with a sewer camera inspection to identify the density of roots in the line.

Service lines made of PVC pipe are not as susceptible to tree roots. If your claytile service line is completely blocked with tree roots, we may recommend that you replace your service line with PVC pipe to prevent future tree root problems.

Fats, oils, and grease that are poured down the drain can clog sewer pipes leading to costly repairs. Store it don’t pour it, first cool and drain the grease into an old jar and place it in your household waste. If the plumber finds excessive grease when cleaning out your, give us a call and we can further assist you with a liquid digestive enzyme that breaks down the grease into water soluble nutrients. This is a temporary fix; continuous grease buildup in the line will result in replacement of your service line.

A grease interceptor (trap) is recommended for business that process grease, fats, and oils. The inceptor acts as a reservoir holding the wastewater and food solids that enter the trap. As the wastewater cools, the grease hardens, and the food solids settle. The wastewater is forced through the trap into the sanitary sewer system and the grease and food solids remain in the trap.

Early spring when temperatures fluctuate, storm drains and sewer mains are susceptible to freezing. The Town of Vermilion has a scheduled maintenance program to thaw these lines before they cause further problems. In particularly cold winters, shallow service lines can also freeze under driveways or areas with little snow cover to act as insulation, causing your sewer service to backup. We can assist you with thawing your line but there is no way to prevent a sewer line from re-freezing. Many sewer lines will re-freeze until the outside temperatures become more constant.

Service lines can shift and settle throughout the years causing the pipe to misalign or sag. This can cause reduced flow and even a blockage in the service line. If the plumber cannot clear the blockage in the pipe, give us a call and we can further assist you with a sewer camera inspection to identify if there is misalignment or sag in the line.

Flushing or dumping hazardous, prohibited or restricted waste into your service line can cause an immediate backup, especially if tree roots have already infiltrated the line.

Items that cannot be dumped into the sewer system:

  • hazardous, prohibited or restricted waste
  • feminine hygiene products
  • paper towels
  • baby wipes
  • diapers
  • prophylactics
  • syringes