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staff, who run the plant, decided the time was right to expand the plant because of a â€"It all bgéa;- at fi’:t.e.;l;::s:;age treatâ€" ment plant on University Avenue by the expressway. Ministry of the Environment But Holmes didn‘t volunteer his services so city, regional and provincial officials have had to deal with this one on their own. And almost six years after it all be'gan, they may finally havé an answer. Keren Adderley Chronicle Staff Sewage isn‘t something most people spend time thinking about, but the mysâ€" tery surrounding Waterloo‘s sewage treatâ€" ment plant would have intrigued even Sherlock Holmes. Region seeks answer to meter mystery C Low i Bandage 1 ""m § * h‘Wumlp'im_l:?mipgmmmy it‘s winter doldrums. w interest "nnng use ns tee Amarlk pss inreme in home saics in "We couldn‘t find anything, any eviâ€" dence of inflow or infiltration or faulty pi'ggg_t:hat would cause that jump." _ _ Willis says the city then asked the region, which in turn asked the ministry, to check their figures again. Flows through dramatic increase in flow through the plant. The region insisted the sudden increase was due to infiltration or inflow, the flow of clean or storm water into the sewage system, or leaky pipes and sent the city to investigate. _ Jim Willis, the city‘s commissioner of public works and city engineer, says the city investigated, but couldn‘t find anyâ€" thing wrong with their system. h 6. 1991 WEWsTa loo. Ont So the plant was expanded, including some new equipment to update the the existing plant. Some of that new equipâ€" ment included new meters. The province paid for the expansion, then billed the region who paid it off over a number of years. The region, in turn, would recover part of their costs by charging higher While the city continued to look for possible sources of infiltration, the region included the Waterloo plant for expansion in the Sewage Treatment Master Plan. But consultants hired by;rihe ministry confirmed the increased flow after checkâ€" ing the meters for accuracy.. the plant are measured by meters and Willis suspected faulty meters. . They‘re down to the lowest point _ ‘"The economy is still rather soft," says penssenssassvanes ons ne e 08 20 NATERLOD PuBuic uie PApy Abévessussoocens cen se uns s #anessvenssaceessese The helipad, expected to be completed by May, will be used an estimated 12 to 20 times a year. While the region has been without a helipad site for over two years, the air ambulance service has been provided out of Waterlooâ€"Wellington Regional Airport. The new site, donated by Domtar, will save valuable minutes in lifeâ€"threatening emergencies. The majority of patients requiring the service will be Kâ€" W residents with trauma, high risk pregnancies or high risk neonates (preâ€"mature babies) needing immediate transfer to major centres located in Toronto, Hamilton and London. "It was a small turnout, but it was very positive. We were pleased," Taylor said. Close to 100 people turned out Saturday to witness a demonstration helicopter landing at the proposed site for an air ambulance helipad. The demonstration was for the benefit of the community adjacent to the area surrounding the proposed site, located at Domtar Inc, 77 Wellington St. S. in Kitchener, an area selected because of its close proximity to both St. Mary‘s and Kitchenerâ€"Waâ€" terloo hospitals. Following the landing area residents were invited to a public meeting in which they could express concerns regarding the proposed construction of the helipad. But Moira Taylor, vice president of paramedical services at St. Mary‘s Hospital, and an organizer in the helipad project, said few people turned out to the public meeting and the mood was positive. Taylor said, for the most part, residents accepted and appreciated the need for a helipad in a location between both hospitals. _ Zehrs, The Entertainment Zone. _ *Selected areas only. So, was Willis right? Were the meters at fault? Ministry officials say no. Regional Chairman Ken Seiling says, partially ‘‘We‘re trying to find out now how much that decrease is attributable to faulty meters and how much is attributable to other factors." But suddenly, says Willis, the flow through the plant, according to the new meters, began decreasing almost to where it had registered before the dramatic increase that began it all. sewage rates to the each municipality in the region. Thursday‘s weather (Continued on page A7)