Norfolk County is amending its current Sewer Use By-law to revise the limits to meet the needs of the community and strengthen our ability to put the environment first.

By having a stronger emphasis on monitoring and implementation strategies regarding discharges and the sanitary collection system, Norfolk County can be at the forefront of addressing this environmental concern, which ultimately affects our waterways and great lakes. The revised and new limits being introduced have been modelled to meet today’s industry standards; with our by-law limits closely comparing to Brant County, Haldimand, and Toronto.

Introduction

As per the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, C. 25 provides a single-tier municipality with the ability to provide any service or thing that the municipality considers necessary or desirable for the public. This includes the passing of by-laws respecting services that the municipality is authorized to provide and respects the economic, social and environmental well-being of the municipality.

Norfolk County’s current Sewer Use By-Law came into effect in February 1975.

The revised Sewer Use By-law applies to all businesses and homeowners that discharge to their local sanitary system in Norfolk County.

The Sewer Use By-law allows Norfolk County to collaborate with local industries and residents respectfully to evaluate solutions that will reduce negative impacts on the sanitary collection system. The purpose of the municipal sanitary collection system is to collect and transport wastewater generated by users to the local wastewater treatment plant for treatment. Discharges to these systems above the proposed by-law limits can interfere with the normal operation of the local wastewater treatment plant, damage the community’s infrastructure, harm the environment and have many other undesirable impacts.

The program is administered by Norfolk County’s Environmental Services Department with support from the County’s Environmental and Infrastructure Services Division as required.