Wastewater and Sewers

The Regional Municipality of Durham provides wastewater collection and treatment to all kinds of buildings. Wastewater collection and treatment is essential to the economy, our health and for the protection of the environment.

Watch our Water Champions video to learn more about how waste water is treated before it is returned to the environment.

Wastewater Treatment

The Region treats wastewater and releases effluent into certain bodies of water. Waste quality must meet high standards as set by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.

We own and operate these water pollution control systems:

Cannington Lagoons
Corbett Creek Water Pollution Control Plant
Courtice Water Pollution Control Plant
Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant
Harmony Creek Water Pollution Control Plant
Lake Simcoe Water Pollution Control Plant
Newcastle Water Pollution Control Plant
Nonquon River Water Pollution Control Plant
Port Darlington Water Pollution Control Plant
Sunderland Lagoon
Uxbridge Brook Water Pollution Control Plant

View our wastewater treatment process diagram

View our Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant page

Wastewater collection

The wastewater collection system moves wastewater from homes, businesses and institutions.

It uses a system of underground pipes and pumping stations. Wastewater ends up at a water pollution control plant.

Durham Region owns and operates:

More than 50 pumping stations.
More than 2,000 kilometers of sanitary sewer pipes.
More than 60 kilometers of forcemain pipes.

Water Pollution Control Plant and Sanitary Sewage Pumping Station Bypasses, Spills and Overflows

A bypass occurs when sewage is diverted around parts of the sanitary sewage pumping station (SSPS) system or water pollution control plant (WPCP) resulting in potentially partially treated sanitary sewage. An overflow takes place when untreated sewage is discharged from the SSPS system or WPCP at designed locations other than the approved site. Release of untreated sewage from undesigned locations is the SSPS and WPCP is classified as a spill. Extreme weather events such as significant rainfall and snow melt can overwhelm the SSPS systems and WPCPs causing bypasses and overflows. Equipment failure such as a break in the pressurized sanitary sewer pipe (forcemain) conveying sanitary sewage to the WPCP can result in a spill if wastewater leaks into the environment.

Bypass, spill and overflow location, frequency and duration

All bypass, spill and overflow events are reported to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks through the Ontario Spills Action Centre. Data collected includes the affected facility, date, time, duration, volume and cause of each event. The Region also details all efforts taken to minimize the potential impact of the event on the receiving water body.

**Bypass, spills and overflow reports**
Location	Date	Duration (hours)	Volume (m3)	Reason	Event Type
Lake Simcoe WPCP	April 16 - April 27, 2026	264	5	Lagoon spill due to heavy precipitation	Spill
Lake Simcoe WPCP	April 16 - April 27, 2026	262	56,374	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	April 16, 2026	4	20,251	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	April 15, 2026	3.5	14,814	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Harmony Creek WPCP	April 15, 2026	2	4,022	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Danovilla SSPS	April 2, 2026	2	0.1	Forcemain Break	Spill
Corbett Creek WPCP	March 31 - April 1, 2026	19.5	9,441	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Harmony Creek WPCP	March 31 - April 1, 2026	3	6,515	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Harmony Creek WPCP	March 31, 2026	2.5	5,151	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Courtice WPCP	December 20, 2025	7.75	9,767	Complete power failure	Bypass
Liverpool SSPS	December 16, 2025	Unknown	20*	Air relief valve failure	Spill
Duffin Creek WPCP	November 29, 2025	7	750	Overflow from sludge mixing tank	Spill
Harmony Creek WPCP	April 3, 2025	10	64,078	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	April 3, 2025	28	65,612	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Lake Simcoe WPCP	March 16 - April 16, 2025	744	145,279	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Laidlaw SSPS	April 3, 2025	4	576	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Overflow
Harmony Creek WPCP	Dec 16, 2024 - Jan 27, 2025	1032	404,582	Primary clarifier collection system failure	Bypass
Newcastle WPCP	Nov 19, 2024	5	646	Planned approved bypass of chlorine contact chamber for cleaning	Bypass
Liverpool SSPS	August 7-8, 2024	36*	972*	Forcemain Break	Spill
Courtice WPCP	July 28, 2024	7.25	14,489	Power Failure	Bypass
Madawaska SSPS	July 16, 2024	4	270	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Overflow
Harmony Creek WPCP	July 16, 2024	7.25	29,751	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	July 16, 2024	3.5	3,073	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Blue Maple SSPS	May 31, 2024	24	280	Forcemain Break	Spill
Liverpool SSPS	May 4-5, 2024	48^*	552^*	Forcemain Break	Spill
Newcastle WPCP	April 18, 2024	3.75	903	Planned approved bypass of the chlorine contact chamber for cleaning	Bypass
Harmony Creek WPCP	April 12, 2024	15.25	32,305	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	April 12, 2024	1.5	25	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	March 26, 2024	1	194	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	March 24, 2024	1.25	163	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	March 24, 2024	1.5	274	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	March 23, 2024	2.75	307	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	March 10-11, 2024	21.5	2,973	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Corbett Creek WPCP	March 9-10, 2024	22.5	5,124	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Newcastle WPCP	November 16, 2023	4	495	Planned approved bypass of the chlorine contact chamber for cleaning	Bypass
Sunset Blvd SSPS	September 1, 2023	4	15	Blockage of screen leading to upstream sewer surcharge	Spill
Corbett Creek WPCP	June 24, 2023	4.5	2,500	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Harmony Creek WPCP	June 24, 2023	2	1,241	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Newcastle WPCP	April 20, 2023	3.5	572	Planned approved bypass of the chlorine contact chamber for cleaning	Bypass
Harmony Creek WPCP	March 25, 2023	3	6,105	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Harmony Creek WPCP	February 9-10, 2023	5	11,814	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Blue Maple SSPS	January 24, 2023	3	11	Forcemain break	Spill
Corbett Creek WPCP	January 4, 2023	3	199	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Harmony Creek WPCP	January 4, 2023	2	3,617	High flow due to heavy precipitation	Bypass
Danovilla SSPS	December 14, 2022	9	161	Forcemain break	Spill
Newcastle WPCP	November 24, 2022	4.5	561	Planned Approved Bypass of the chlorine contact chamber for cleaning	Bypass
Sunderland WPCP	August 8, 2022	95	11,816	Planned approved bypass to drain stormwater in the maintenance lagoon	Bypass
Newcastle WPCP	April 20, 2022	5	748	Planned approved bypass of the chlorine contact chamber for cleaning	Bypass
Simcoe Street North SSPS	April 14, 2022	Unknown	0.72 per day	Air relief valve failure	Spill
Conlin Road SSPS	January 19, 2022	Unknown	300	Forcemain break	Spill
Michael Boulevard SSPS	December 21, 2021	Unknown	1,035	Forcemain break	Spill
Newcastle WPCP	November 4, 2021	4	650	Planned approved bypass of the chlorine contact chamber	Bypass
Newcastle WPCP	April 7, 2021	4	566	Planned approved bypass of the chlorine contact chamber for cleaning	Bypass

*Duration and volume are estimated

Recreational Vehicle Holding Tank Waste Disposal

You can empty your recreational vehicle holding tank at these locations:

Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant
901 McKay Road, Pickering
Open Monday to Sunday, 24 hours a day

Courtice Water Pollution Control Plant
100 Osborne Road, Courtice
Open Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (excluding statutory holidays)

Port Darlington Water Pollution Control Plant
93 Port Darlington Road, Bowmanville
Open Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (excluding statutory holidays)

Uxbridge Brook Water Pollution Control Plant
127 Main Street North, Uxbridge
Open Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. (excluding statutory holidays)

Water pollution control plants annual performance reports

Biosolids are a by-product of the wastewater treatment process. During wastewater treatment, we remove and treat solids. This reduces smell and pathogens. The treated solids produce nutrient-rich organic matter. We call this matter biosolids. In Durham Region, biosolids are burned or applied to farms. Durham Region applies between 1,000 and 5,000 dry tonnes of biosolids to land each year depending on weather and availability.

Sewer odour complaints

Sometimes you may notice an earthy-like smell coming from your bathroom sink. It can also come from your basement floor drain. The odour might come from of a dried out drain. Water should always be present in the drain. It prevents the smell from coming back out of the pipes. The drain may also need a cleaning. You can use a store bought drain cleaner. Follow manufacturer guidelines.

If the smell is still present, please contact your local depot.

Sewer Use By-Law

The Sewer Use By-law controls discharges to Durham Region sanitary sewers and storm sewers. The by-law protects the environment and the operation of our water pollution control plants. It limits what gets in to our sewers. If you have questions about the Sewer Use By-law please contact:

The Regional Municipality of Durham
Works Department
Sewer Use by-law Office
2400 Forbes Street
Whitby, Ontario
L1N 8M3

Telephone: 905-576-3352

Sewer locates

The Region can locate water pipes and sanitary sewers on public property only. We can find the water service box or extensionernal shut off valve for a home, business or institution. Use a private company to find watermains on private property. If you would like to request a water or sewer locate on public property, please contact your local depot.

Asset management

The Region's formal asset management program includes:

Evaluation of assets and their condition.
Identification of key challenges and risks.
Detailed option analysis.
Financial strategy with a multi-year economic and financial forecast.
Assessment of financing options for existing assets and future growth.

Wastewater Master Plan Study

The Wastewater Master Plan Study develops a long-term strategy for all municipal wastewater collection and treatment systems in Durham Region.

Integrated Management System

An Integrated Management System (IMS) helps the Region meet the Standard of Care requirements. An IMS demonstrates that management controls over the Region's municipal drinking water and waste water treatment systems exist. We put the IMS in place in 2003. It was for the Region's municipal drinking water systems. The IMS later expanded to include wastewater. This happened when we added the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant. The Duffin Creek plant is currently registered to ISO14001.

The Region is committed to showing leadership through the IMS. The Scope Statement and the Environmental Policy reflects this. The Scope details out objectives to deliver an effective management system. These documents are available through the Region's Integrated Management System co-ordinator.

Wastewater and Sewers

2025 Water Pollution Control Plants Annual Performance Report

2024 Water Pollution Control Plants Annual Performance Report

2023 Water Pollution Control Plants Annual Performance Report

2022 Water Pollution Control Plants Annual Performance Report

2021 Water Pollution Control Plants Annual Performance Report

2020 Water Pollution Control Plants Annual Performance Report

2019 Water Pollution Control Plants Annual Performance Report

2018 Water Pollution Control Plants Annual Performance Report

2017 Water Pollution Control Plants Annual Performance Report

Integrated Management System