Craft beer brewers and other commercial fermenters are being warned they must stop using Metro Vancouver’s sewer system as a dumping ground.
Sediment from the hops, grain, fruit, yeast or other organic material used in beer brewing or wine making often goes down the drain where it’s difficult to treat, contributing to pipe corrosion and odour in the sewage treatment system.
Metro Vancouver utility planning director Fred Nenninger says the explosion of craft brewing operations in recent years has left them dealing with a “significant increase” in such solids entering the sewer lines.
Alcohol fermenters such as breweries will be expected to filter their waste water before discharge and monitor its acidity.
The region expects to formally regulate the industry’s sewage discharges with a bylaw next year that would also impose fees to recover Metro’s costs.
The new rules would apply not just to breweries, but brew pubs, wineries, distilleries and U-brews outlets.
Nenninger doesn’t think it will be difficult for the industry to comply.
