‘See how cool it can be’: B.C. engineer inspired to make music video about wastewater treatment plant

Adam finds out the story behind an engineer who was inspired to write a song and film a music video about wastewater treatment.

NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. – When Sarah Ries was young, she felt like she was living a real-life Disney movie.

“I actually wore a Cinderella dress throughout my whole kindergarten, every day,” Sarah smiles.

She would also constantly carry around a toy tape recorder and microphone, so she could sing along to all the songs from “The Little Mermaid.”

“But (my younger self) had dreams of doing something bigger,” Sarah says.

So Sarah paused performing until after she realized her dream of becoming an engineer, specializing in wastewater.

“When we developed sanitation, it was the biggest improvement in public health,” Sarah says. “So (wastewater management) is super essential to human health.”

Sarah’s first big job was working on the construction of a new wastewater treatment facility in Tofino. She was so passion about the project, she decided to write a song about it.

“I know that most people just flush and no one ever thinks about it,” Sarah explains. “So I thought (a song) was a good opportunity to tell people what’s going on.”

Sarah then summoned up the courage to play her “Wastewater Song” at a local open mic night hosted by Geoff Johnson.

“She came in the first time,” Geoff says. “And I thought, ‘Oh. This is a little bit weird.’”

But the next times, Geoff really listened to Sarah’s thoughtful lyrics, noticed the enthusiastic response from the audience, and was so impressed, he pitched the possibility of making a music video

“There was a version of the video that had laser sounds zapping bacteria and they would explode,” Geoff says of the creative process. “(There were) little poop emojis dancing around and stuff like that.”

But in the end, Geoff and Sarah choose to produce a more professional product.

It features drone shots and behind-the-scenes mechanical backdrops, while Sarah plays guitar and sings about the plant’s process.

While the lyrics offer practical and scientific details about wastewater management, like “You may not know it, the system is aerobic,” “Organics get eaten in a vat of bacteria,” and “We blast it with UV for disinfecting,” the chorus poses the comical question, “Who’s dealing with your s#!t?”

The girl who wore fairytale dresses and sang “Under The Sea” has grown up to don personal protective equipment and showcase the complex process of keeping human waste out of the sea.

While it’s unlikely a song about treating “number two” will hit No. 1 on the music charts, Sarah does hope — like the fairytales with morals she once loved — her and Geoff’s work both entertains and educates.

“For people to hear at least once how their wastewater is more than many have heard before,” Sarah smiles, before revealing the final lyric of the song. “I hope you can see how cool it can be.”