The RM of Gimli issued a public notice to residents near the end of February, stating the municipality will be applying stockpiled biosolids to farmland starting in May.
Biosolids, or biological solids, is also known as sewage sludge. The RM will be spreading about 8,000 tonnes of biosolids this year on six parcels of land that border the Gimli airport.
The RM’s utility manager Darcy Hjelmeland said the biosolids will be transferred from the decommissioned wastewater lagoon, which is near Lake Winnipeg and Gimli’s South Beach neighbourhood, to fields around the airport site. It is not a pilot project.
Field A (NW 13-19-3-E1 55); Field B (NW 13-19-3-E1 19); Field C (NW 7-19-4-E1 16); Field D (SW 7-19-4-E1 27); Field E (SW 7-19-4-E1 16); and Field F (SE 12-19-3-E1 25)
“The biosolids being land applied this year are from the former lagoon site for the RM of Gimli that was decommissioned in 2009,” said Hjelmeland. “The RM’s biosolids produced at the WWTP (wastewater treatment plant) are trucked to drying beds at the Arnes Landfill site.”
Biosolids result from the treatment of human sewage and contain nutrient-rich matter including phosphorus that can be used as fertilizer to promote the growth of crops.
The RM has a licence from the province to spread biosolids. On behalf of the RM, WSP Canada Inc., is notifying the provincial government’s environment and climate change department of the land application as per Clause 47 of licence No. 2473 RR.
“The biosolids will be land-applied to the following parcels owned by the RM of Gimli beginning on or after May 1, 2024: NW 13-19-3-E1, NW 7-19-4-E1, SW 7-19-4-E1 and SE 12-19-3-E1,” said Hjelmeland.
And there will be crops grown by a farmer who leases the land.
The application of the biosolids will be monitored by the consultant working for the RM, he said, and will be applied according to the guidelines outlined in the RM’s licence.
“There are three clauses with respect to monitoring and reporting (Clauses 51-53) that WSP will be able to help provide the required documentation after the land application is completed, as well as provide input to Gimli for the report required to be submitted to the Province before March 15, 2024,” said Hjelmeland.
A post on the RM’s website alerting residents about the program says fields will be tilled within 48 hours for “proper odour and nutrient management.”
