2011 FCM Sustainable Communities Awards Winner — Water — Village of Victoria: Overview

Village of Victoria, Prince Edward Island and Engineering Technologies Canada

Water and Wastewater Pilot Project

Residents of the small seaside community of Victoria, P.E.I., had always relied on private holding tanks and septic systems to handle sewage but, by the 21st century, failing septic systems were discharging effluent not only into the soil, but also into the groundwater and into Victoria Harbour. No new building permits could be issued, economic expansion was impossible, and residents were starting to leave the village. Victoria needed an affordable, sustainable and environmentally responsible solution to its sewage problem.