Saskatoon storm 'overwhelmed' treatment plant
Saskatoon's wastewater treatment plant struggled to keep up during the June 20 rainstorm that battered the city.
The plant measures its flow in millions of litres per day (MLD).
A city report outlines how 270 million MLD of water was rushing through the plant during the storm's peak. The typical average daily flow sits around 79 MLD, according to the city.
The highest flow rate "in recent history" happened in 2017, with 170 MLD, according to the report.
During the storm, the plant was "overwhelmed" resulting in a minor spill of 70 cubic metres of raw sewage into the South Saskatchewan River, the report said.
"Due to the minimal amount of sewage spilled, there is no risk to the public to utilize the river for recreation," the report said.
By comparison, an Olympic-sized swimming pool holds 2,500 cubic metres of water.
The city's sanitary and storm systems operate independently.
However, water can infiltrate the storm system through avenues such as manholes, pipes and sump pump connections, the report said.
During the storm, city residents were asked via social media to refrain from unnecessarily flushing toilets and running washing machines and dishwashers.
The plant was switched to manual operation during the storm, which diverted millions of litres of water and prevented "longer-term quality impacts," the report said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
WATCH LIVE | Committee set to hear testimony on alleged political interference in N.S. mass shooting
The House of Commons Public Safety and National Security Committee is set to meet today to discuss allegations of political interference in the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.

Canada's inflation rate slows to 7.6 per cent in July as gas prices fall
Canada's year-over-year inflation rate slowed to 7.6 per cent in July, with the deceleration largely driven by a decline in gas prices. The inflation rate hit a nearly 40-year-high of 8.1 per cent in June, but economists were widely expecting inflation to have since slowed.
OPINION | Economists are forecasting a recession, how should you prepare?
The next time the Bank of Canada raises interest rates on the scheduled date of September 7, 2022, it could potentially trigger a recession. Although there may be a chance that we don’t enter into a recession and the BoC is still hoping for a soft landing, it’s best to be prepared. Contributor Christopher Liew explains how.
Watch this adorable moment paralyzed dog shows a baby how to crawl
A mother from Florida shared an adorable video of her son's interaction with the family's dog.
Explosions rock Crimea in suspected Ukrainian attack
Explosions and fires ripped through an ammunition depot in Russia-annexed Crimea on Tuesday in the second suspected Ukrainian attack on the peninsula in just over a week, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.
'At the mercy of this whale': B.C. couple had dinghy lifted by humpback during hours-long encounter
A Vancouver couple was in awe and a bit scared during an hours-long encounter with a whale on B.C.'s Central Coast, much of which they captured on video.
Minister asks Canadians not to fake travel plans to skip passport application lines
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development of Canada Karina Gould is discouraging people from making fake travel plans just to skip the line of those waiting for passports.
Data centres at risk of overheating as heat waves becomes more intense
As heat waves become more common and extreme due to the effects of climate change, the data centres that provide the backbone for the online services the public relies on are at risk of overheating.
One in four border officers witnessed discrimination by colleagues: internal report
One-quarter of front line employees surveyed at Canada's border agency said they had directly witnessed a colleague discriminate against a traveller in the previous two years.