Lightning strike damages Orillia’s water treatment centre

City of Orillia Ont., April., 10, 2024. (CTVNews/Rob Cooper)

Orillia staff and emergency services responded swiftly when the secondary digester at the Orillia Wastewater Treatment Centre was struck by lightning Wednesday night.

The fire has since been extinguished, however, it has significantly impacted operations at the facility.

Additionally, heavy rains of more than 50 millimetres in a short time period overnight have also strained the system.

“We are doing everything possible to mitigate the effects of this incident and the rain and maintain essential services,” said Mayor Don McIsaac.

“I want to be clear. Our drinking water is not impacted. This impacts our wastewater operations only. We appreciate the community’s patience as our crews work around the clock to restore operations,” he said.

There were no reported injuries. However, the damage sustained has affected the normal operation of wastewater treatment systems, which are currently not operating at full capacity.

Due to heavy rains, water levels have exceeded optimal operation levels for the wastewater system.

While the city is currently responding to an issue at the Wastewater Treatment Centre, staff continue to reassure all residents that this incident does not affect the city’s drinking water supply.

This is a wastewater system issue, related to sewage and drainage, not the drinking water system.

The municipal drinking water remains safe and fully operational. Residents can continue to:

• Drink tap water
• Bathe and shower
• Use water for cooking, handwashing, and daily needs

There is no boil water advisory in effect, and no risk to the safety of the city’s drinking water.

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Orillia has implemented emergency protocols and is hauling sewage to alternate facilities and using all available system redundancies to reduce impacts.

Despite these efforts, some backup is occurring, and residents may have back ups, odours or slower drainage in some areas.

To help reduce strain on the wastewater system while emergency repairs are underway, all residents are asked to reduce water use as much as possible, including:

Postponing laundry and dishwashing

• Taking shorter showers
• Flushing toilets only when necessary
• Avoiding draining large amounts of water at once (e.g., bathtubs)

Report sewer backups or related issues to the city immediately by calling 705-329-7249.