Kings County Awaits Recommendation on New Minas Sewage Plant Upgrades
Kings County, Nova Scotia, expects a recommendation in late fall from an optimization study evaluating five options for its regional sewage treatment plant in New Minas. The study addresses recurring odour issues, capacity concerns, and compliance needs at the lagoon-based facility.
Engineering and public works director Brad Carrigan provided an update on the regional sewage treatment plant optimization study during a September committee of the whole session in Kings County, Nova Scotia. The municipality commissioned the pre-design work in February 2025, awarding the contract to CBCL.
CBCL developed five treatment options that are being assessed using qualitative and quantitative criteria. These criteria include ease of operation, maintenance, sludge management, odour control, effluent quality, compatibility with high-strength wastewater, geotechnical constraints, cold climate track record, and lifecycle costs. The study examines both replacing the existing biological lagoon-based system with mechanical plants and adding technologies to improve the efficiency of the current system.
Partners in the regional sewer system include the County of Kings, the Town of Kentville, the Village of New Minas, and PepsiCo. The current plant is located near the Harvest Moon trail and the largest commercial district in the Annapolis Valley. In July, Carrigan noted that the regional facility is the largest treatment plant east of Quebec, if not Ontario, and that lagoon systems are typically not this large.
A recurring odour problem at the plant may persist until major upgrades are completed. The issue is caused by varying influent loads producing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas. As an interim measure, about 1,400 tonnes of bone-dry biosolids were removed from the second treatment lagoon last fall. This fall, the municipality plans to remove sludge from the third, fourth, and fifth treatment lagoons to improve airflow and prevent odours.
Carrigan stated there is no firm date for the report's release but expects it to come forward in late fall after review by technical subcommittees. Preliminary design timelines estimate early 2027, with final design expected in late 2027 and construction starting in late 2027 or early 2028.