Watts Creek Sewage Treatment Plant - Ottawa, Ontario - Super Fund Sites on Waymarking.com

In 2022, access is easy. There is no fencing, no signage and no dangerous, abandoned buildings. However, there is little evidence of a large treatment plant that had existed for decades.

By 1965, a large treatment plant with four lagoons was located on the west side of Rifle Road, immediately beside Watts Creek. In the mid-'70s, the original site was decommissioned. The Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton established a new site with new buildings and new lagoons. This is the site you are visiting.

The present site was decommissioned in 1995. The National Capital Commission (NCC) began decontamination: removing hazardous substances, removing water and electrical services, installing security fencing and an emergency bypass piping system for the remaining sewer lines. According to the NCC website, in 2006, proper locks were installed at the site, windows were boarded up, fences were constructed, and trees were pruned or removed. In 2007, 16,000 cubic metres of metal, metalloid, and organometallic contaminants were removed.

In 2014, the raw sludge pumping station and blower building were removed. The remaining buildings were resecured. Ten lagoons/tanks were drained, and filled with stone and fill material. Manhole covers were welded shut. The perimeter fence was resecured, and new “No Trespassing” signs were installed. The risk to public safety had been significantly reduced at the site.

By the end of 2019, the buildings at the site, including the control buildings, administrative buildings and pumphouse, were demolished. The area was renaturalized, with the addition of backfill and seeding of the site. The chain-link fence was removed.

To help you visualize the changes described above, check the aerial photos I have included in the waymark gallery. These photographs are screenshots from the city of Ottawa website.

Posted co-ordinates represent the largest surviving structure.