In 2016, the Town of Montague decided to improve the performance of its wastewater treatment facility while reducing its costs for sludge transportation and disposal.
An overaccumulation of sludge at its wastewater treatment plant was cause for concern for the Town of Montague, a small community of about 2,000 people on Prince Edward Island (the town has since amalgamated into the Town of Three Rivers). The town was diverting over 13 tonnes of sludge annually by the truckload, resulting in about 3,600 kilometres of roundtrip travel every year. Although the facility was still able to meet environmental regulations, the risk of raw, untreated sewage bypassing the facility and being released into receiving waters was mounting. It was time for swift action.