Wastewater odours

Why odours happen

When you flush a toilet or take a shower, wastewater flows through a network of underground pipes called the sanitary sewer system.

Odours are created when bacteria start to break down materials in wastewater. This happens in all sewer systems.

Peel Region’s wastewater system treats nearly 660 million litres of sewage from residents and businesses every day. 

Odour control and monitoring

We’re committed to reducing odours and take action to control odours during the wastewater collection and treatment process by:

• Ensuring all Peel Region facilities meet or exceed provincial regulations.
• Continuously researching and using state-of-the-art treatment processes and technology.
• Responding quickly and thoroughly when odours happen.
• Routinely inspecting and cleaning equipment that can cause odours.
• Actively monitoring odour levels.

Monitoring odours

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Peel Region employees use specialized devices called olfactometers to detect odour levels around the G.E. Booth facility and investigate any issues. This technology helps us investigate odour issues and complaints .

G.E. Booth also has real-time odour sensors, which help track changes by wind and show how well our odour-control systems are working.

Facility upgrades to reduce odour

G.E. Booth is being upgraded to reduce odours and modernize the facility. The local community can expect odours to drop by more than 90% once this work is done.

These upgrades include:

• Enclosing the plant primary clarifiers (large tanks where solids settle out of the water before it moves to the next treatment step).
• Building new odour control facilities.

• Updating odour control processes in sections of the facility that produce the most odour,  such as the headworks building. 

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