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Residents of and visitors to Canmore can expect this to be — hopefully — the final summer where a sewage smell will waft through the townsite.
The Alberta municipality has tried to fix the stinky problem, which stems from its wastewater treatment plant, since 2022.
The latest fixes are anticipated to cost $7.2 million.
Though meant to be fixed before this summer, delays have pushed the project wrap-up to later this year.
Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert said “it’s still a priority,” and the town is moving “as fast as it can go” to fix the problem.
Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert stands near the community’s wastewater treatment plant on Aug. 22, 2025. The municipality has spent about $1.7 million trying to fix the issue already. (Greg Colgan/CBC)Canmore tried multiple fixes
The municipality has thrown everything at the problem, but it’s continued to linger.
The odour used to get pushed to the west of Canmore, but shifting winds began carrying it into the townsite.
That led to multiple attempts to quell the stench with chemical dousing and a carbon air scrubber, totalling about $1.7 million. Each step helped, but missed eradicating the whiff of sewage.
A final phase will see an enclosure built over the open air sewage treatment tanks, essentially creating a giant air purifier. Town council approved a budget of $5 million, but the specialty parts coming from as far as South America now have it forecast at $7.2 million.
Designing those fixes and getting the parts for them take time.
The project was also held up for several months as the Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas asked for clarification on the work being done.
But with council making the project a bigger priority last fall, timelines were accelerated from the standard 26 months to 13 months.
“What was very clear from council: this continued to be a priority, and they were very interested in helping move this project forward,” said Andreas Comeau, Canmore’s manager of public works.
WATCH | Canmore’s multimillion-dollar battle over stinky wastewater continues:
Canmore’s $2.6M battle over stinky wastewater continues
The town of Canmore, just west of Calgary, has spent about $2.6 million trying to combat a persistent smell from a wastewater plant to no avail. As the number of complaints grow, the council is getting ready to look at other possible solutions to stem the stench.More mitigation on the way
The municipality is adding extra chemical dousing into parts of the plant by the end of May to reduce the smell.
It will continue its odour reporting that allows people to note locations where they smell the sewage, which in turn lets the municipality and EPCOR, which runs the plant, adjust operations.
“We’re looking to council and the community to be patient as we get this work done as soon as possible,” Comeau said.
Krausert said it was “disappointing” the work couldn’t be done before the summer because of “delays that were out of our control.”
He said he “especially appreciated the extra summer mitigation” before work is finished.
On top of this work, Canmore has to make about $98 million in upgrades to the plant by 2031 to meet new provincial environmental regulations.
Canmore’s wastewater treatment plant on Aug. 22, 2025. Though the odour issue was meant to be fixed before this summer, delays have pushed the project wrap-up to later this year. (Greg Colgan/CBC)