Case Study 14 - Fraser River Houseboats

Location - Canoe Pass, Fraser River, Delta,BC.

Type of site - For many years, houseboats (floating homes) have existed on the Fraser River. They were equipped with septic tanks and then to a communal clarification system, with the effluent discharged into the Fraser River. The treatment system required frequent pumping, and there were repeated complaints of unpleasant smells at the discharge point. In 2004 under coming changes to the federal marine discharge regulations, the Fraser River Port authority requested that the system be upgraded. Go-Green was consulted and an environmental impact study done on a proposed new design for one of the house boat owners.

Design criteria - Space and financial considerations made it impractical to handle each houseboat separately.

Solution - Two 3000 gallon tanks each equipped with 3 aerators were installed at the clarifier building, to handle a flow rate of 7500 gallons/day. Pressurized water was used to clean all existing tank walls, and all sludge was removed. This removed most of the unpleasant smells that otherwise accumulate on metal parts (picture 2) and piping.

Installation - August 2005. Recent testing gave BOD levels of 6, and TSS count of 11, making it safe for birds, fish or humans, and no nasty smells or noisy moving parts.

Conclusion - The houseboat community is no longer making news for anything but it's beauty. This type of solution is appropriate on major rivers, for house boats communities on a lake a land based dispersal field could be added.

Previous Case Study    Next Case history