After Decades of Wastewater Warnings, Cumberland Faces Shellfish Lawsuit

Five shellfish companies have filed a lawsuit against the Village of Cumberland, alleging that years of untreated and inadequately treated wastewater contributed to contamination in Baynes Sound, repeated shellfish harvesting closures and substantial financial losses.

The lawsuit, filed October 30, 2026, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, raises questions about a wastewater treatment system that struggled to meet provincial environmental requirements for nearly three decades.

The court filing describes wastewater samples that allegedly contained fecal coliform concentrations thousands of times higher than permitted levels. It also alleges that operators sometimes bypassed portions of the treatment system during periods of excessive rainfall.

Those allegations have not been proven in court.

However, Cumberland's own records document years of wastewater permit violations, provincial enforcement action and reportable lagoon overflows.

The Village completed major treatment upgrades in March 2026, approximately seven months before the lawsuit was filed.

A review of court documents, provincial enforcement records, historical reporting and municipal council records reveals how Cumberland arrived at this point, what has been done to address the problems and what questions remain for residents.

Maple Lake Creek (red) flows past Cumberland's wastewater treatment lagoons before joining the Trent River (blue), which empties into Baynes Sound. Waterway routes are approximate.

The Lawsuit and What the Growers Allege

The five plaintiffs are Stellar Bay Shellfish Ltd., Odyssey Shellfish Ltd., Lorindale Holdings Ltd., Taylor Shellfish Canada ULC and Mac's Oysters Ltd.

Together, the companies operate shellfish aquaculture sites throughout Baynes Sound, including areas near Fanny Bay, Deep Bay, Mud Bay and Denman Island.

Their products are sold domestically and internationally under brands including Fanny Bay, Kusshi and Stellar Bay.

The lawsuit alleges negligence, nuisance and other grounds for liability arising from Cumberland's wastewater treatment operations.

The companies are seeking compensation for lost harvests, destroyed products, additional operating expenses, cancelled orders, lost customers and damage to their businesses. They are also seeking punitive damages.

No specific total damages amount is identified in the filed Notice of Civil Claim.

Allegations of Extremely High Bacterial Readings

The plaintiffs identify several wastewater sampling results that they allege exceeded Cumberland's permitted fecal coliform concentration of 200 MPN per 100 millilitres.

Among the readings cited are:

• June 27, 2018: 3.5 million MPN per 100 millilitres.

• October 30, 2018: 2.8 million MPN per 100 millilitres.

• October 11, 2023: 640,000 MPN per 100 millilitres.

• September 9, 2024: 520,000 MPN per 100 millilitres.

• The June 2018 figure is 17,500 times the stated permit limit.

These measurements are allegations reproduced from the court filing. The original laboratory reports and sampling locations have not been independently examined for this article.

The growers also allege that Cumberland deliberately opened an auxiliary bypass valve during periods of heavy wastewater flow to prevent its lagoons from overtopping.

They identify periods in early 2018, late 2018 and January 2019 when they say this occurred.

According to the claim, some sewage was also discharged directly from the first treatment lagoon into Maple Lake Creek, bypassing the second lagoon entirely.

The plaintiffs argue that these discharges contributed to the contamination of downstream shellfish-growing waters.

Cumberland's treated wastewater enters Maple Lake Creek, flows into the Trent River and eventually reaches Baynes Sound.

Shellfish can accumulate bacteria and viruses while filtering seawater. Contamination can result in harvesting restrictions, product recalls and significant commercial losses.

The growers identify closures associated with norovirus concerns, including some that allegedly lasted six months or longer.

However, Baynes Sound has multiple potential sources of contamination. Establishing whether Cumberland caused or materially contributed to particular closures will be a central issue in the lawsuit.

A Wastewater Problem Decades in the Making

Cumberland's wastewater treatment facility dates back to approximately 1967.

For decades, sewage was processed through a lagoon system that relied on aeration, biological processes and sunlight to reduce contaminants before the wastewater was discharged into Maple Lake Creek.

By the 1990s, the system faced increasingly stringent environmental requirements.

In December 1997, Cumberland's provincial discharge permit was amended to require disinfection and nutrient-removal facilities.

Those improvements were required by May 1, 1999.

The deadline passed without the facilities being constructed.

Cumberland began developing a Liquid Waste Management Plan in the late 1990s, examining different approaches to meeting provincial requirements.

Early proposals included constructed wetlands and improvements to the existing lagoons. Later engineering assessments concluded that additional treatment processes would be necessary.

Throughout the 2000s, the Village continued exploring options while facing significant financial and technical challenges.

The Regional Sewage Project That Never Happened

By 2012, Cumberland was participating in a proposed $41.7 million regional wastewater treatment project with the Comox Valley Regional District.

The project would have served Cumberland, Royston and Union Bay, replacing or supplementing existing wastewater and septic systems.

The regional district promoted the proposal partly on its ability to protect Baynes Sound's shellfish resources.

By January 2015, the partnership had secured $15 million in funding, although estimated construction costs had increased to between $49.5 million and $58.5 million.

The financial implications for residents were substantial.

A January 2015 regional district report estimated capital costs of approximately $8,000 to $12,000 per Cumberland connection under the options being considered.

In November 2015, Cumberland council voted to withdraw from the regional project and pursue its own wastewater treatment planning.

Financial concerns, funding uncertainty and questions surrounding the proposed treatment approach were among the considerations identified in municipal records.

The remaining regional proposal was defeated in a June 2016 referendum involving participating electoral-area residents. Cumberland had already withdrawn and did not participate in that vote.

The decision to pursue a local solution did not remove Cumberland's obligation to meet its wastewater permit requirements.

It meant the Village would continue looking for a treatment approach that it could finance and operate independently.

Maple Lake, northeast of Cumberland. Maple Lake Creek flows from the lake toward the Village's wastewater treatment area.

Years of Provincial Warnings and Penalties

While Cumberland continued developing its wastewater plans, provincial regulators were increasingly concerned about the existing facility.

Following an inspection in 2016, the Ministry of Environment issued a formal warning regarding wastewater permit violations.

Another inspection in December 2017 resulted in a recommendation for administrative penalties.

In February 2018, the province issued a further noncompliance notice.

Speaking to the Comox Valley Record in March 2018, then-chief administrative officer Sundance Topham acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, particularly the possibility of provincial fines.

The Village's wastewater project coordinator, Paul Nash, also acknowledged that Cumberland needed to move forward with treatment improvements that had been required for years.

Hundreds of Documented Permit Exceedances

In January 2019, the Ministry of Environment issued a notice proposing administrative penalties totalling $184,900.

The document identified numerous violations between January 2015 and December 2017, including:

• 232 exceedances of the permitted daily wastewater discharge volume.

• 84 exceedances of effluent-quality limits involving suspended solids, fecal coliform bacteria and phosphorus.

• Failure to construct disinfection and nutrient-removal facilities required by May 1999.

• Other compliance deficiencies, including inadequate signage around discharge areas.

These were findings identified through the provincial enforcement process, separate from the allegations now being advanced in court.

The original provincial enforcement notice is included in Cumberland's February 25, 2019 council agenda, pages 81–83.

Cumberland disputed aspects of the proposed penalty and continued discussions with the province.

An August 2019 Times Colonist article reported that the penalty had been reduced to $85,000 and that the Village was considering an appeal.

Then-director of operations Rob Crisfield acknowledged that Cumberland's wastewater problems stretched back approximately 20 years.

He explained that treatment planning had repeatedly changed direction because of affordability concerns and difficulties obtaining provincial approval.

In 2020, Cumberland negotiated a settlement reducing the administrative penalty to $55,000.

According to a February 2022 municipal report, $15,000 was payable in 2020, while the remaining $40,000 was conditional on completing required treatment improvements and meeting specified regulatory requirements.

The original settlement conditions included a December 31, 2025 deadline for obtaining the necessary wastewater authorization, with a possible extension.

That extension was eventually required.

In December 2025, the Village confirmed that the province had formally approved an extension to December 31, 2026.

The available public records confirm the extension but do not establish whether the remaining conditional penalty has been permanently waived.

This history is significant because it demonstrates that Cumberland's wastewater problems were independently documented through provincial enforcement proceedings long before the current lawsuit.

What Cumberland's Own Records Reveal

The lawsuit alleges that Cumberland's former lagoon system was particularly vulnerable during periods of heavy rainfall.

According to the plaintiffs, wastewater inflows could increase dramatically during wet weather, reducing the time sewage remained in the treatment lagoons.

The claim describes how retention times that could exceed 50 days during relatively low flows could drop below five days when flows increased substantially.

That matters because the effectiveness of the former lagoon system depended partly on how long wastewater remained in treatment.

The plaintiffs allege that excessive flows resulted in inadequately treated wastewater being discharged downstream.

There is independent municipal documentation of some overflow events.

Cumberland's 2025 Liquid Waste Management Plan identifies three reportable lagoon overflow incidents between 2018 and 2024.

The report explains that during extreme flows, wastewater could pass over a weir near the entrance to the primary lagoon. Water passing that point was effectively incoming wastewater that had not completed treatment.

One documented incident occurred on December 26, 2022, lasting approximately two hours.

The report distinguishes these lagoon incidents from overflows within the sewage collection network, noting that staff knew of no collection-system overflows since at least 2010.

These records do not independently verify every bypass event described in the lawsuit or establish that a particular overflow caused a shellfish closure.

They do confirm that excessive wet-weather flows created reportable operational problems at the treatment facility.

The overflow history is documented in the Village's May 2025 Liquid Waste Management Plan.

An aerial view of the channel near Cumberland's wastewater treatment lagoons, part of the drainage system connecting to Maple Lake Creek.

The Shellfish Industry's Warnings

Concerns about Cumberland's wastewater potentially affecting Baynes Sound were being expressed publicly years before the lawsuit.

In a March 2018 letter published in the Comox Valley Record, Denman Island resident Edi Johnston questioned whether Cumberland's wastewater overflows could be contributing to norovirus-related harvesting closures.

That letter reflected a resident's concerns rather than an independent scientific finding, but it demonstrates that the issue was being publicly discussed.

More recently, municipal records show direct engagement between shellfish industry representatives and Cumberland's elected officials.

Meetings With Council in 2025

An April 7, 2025 council agenda includes a report from Councillor Troy Therrien documenting a February 18 meeting involving Therrien, Mayor Vickey Brown and shellfish farmer Alex Munro.

The meeting was described as a discussion about Cumberland's Liquid Waste Management Plan and its possible impact on the Baynes Sound shellfish industry.

The report does not provide detailed minutes or identify commitments made during that discussion.

However, it confirms that these concerns were being discussed directly with senior elected officials by February 2025.

The meeting is documented in the April 7, 2025 council agenda, page 110.

Requests for Monitoring and Early Warnings

On September 23, 2025, BC Shellfish Growers Association executive director Nico Prins wrote to Cumberland's mayor and council requesting discussions about wastewater monitoring and communication procedures.

The letter stated that the association had previously contacted Mayor Brown on August 13, September 4 and September 17.

With the higher-risk norovirus season approaching, the association wanted to discuss monitoring wastewater entering and leaving the treatment plant, evaluating treatment effectiveness and establishing timely notifications of wastewater permit exceedances or overflows.

Such notifications could help shellfish growers coordinate testing and take precautions during potential contamination events.

The association appeared before council on October 27.

At the November 10 meeting, council unanimously passed motion 25-216, directing staff to review the requests and respond once commissioning of the wastewater treatment facility was complete.

The motion was moved by Councillor Neil Borecky and seconded by Councillor Troy Therrien.

A January 2026 municipal action-tracking report still identified the response as being in progress.

The Village subsequently announced that its major treatment upgrades were operational in March 2026.

The public records reviewed for this article do not establish whether the association received the requested response or whether a formal monitoring and early-warning arrangement was implemented.

That remains an important unanswered question.

The association's September 2025 letter is included in the October 27 council agenda, page 14.

Nearly $22 Million in Wastewater Upgrades

Cumberland has made substantial investments to address its wastewater problems.

Rather than constructing an entirely new regional facility, the Village ultimately selected an approach that retained and upgraded its existing lagoons while introducing modern treatment equipment.

Major construction began in 2023.

As the project progressed, costs increased because of construction inflation, unexpected site conditions, design changes and other challenges.

In June 2024, Cumberland completed an alternate approval process authorizing an additional $2.5 million in borrowing for wastewater improvements.

Further financial adjustments followed.

By December 2025, the Village reported an approved Phase 1 budget of $18,117,400 and a Phase 2 budget of $3,860,000.

Together, those budgets totalled approximately $21.98 million.

Those figures are approved project budgets, not necessarily the final audited costs. The project has also received substantial federal and provincial grant support.

Major Treatment Improvements Completed in March 2026

On March 25, 2026, Cumberland announced that Phase 1 of its wastewater upgrades was fully operational.

The improvements included ultraviolet disinfection, upgraded wastewater screening, additional lagoon aeration, improved flow management and new operating equipment.

UV disinfection provides an engineered method of reducing microorganisms in treated wastewater, replacing the former system's reliance on natural treatment processes alone.

The Village stated that the completed Phase 1 improvements would meet or exceed provincial and federal treatment requirements.

This was a substantial achievement following years of planning, funding challenges and construction.

Importantly, Phase 1 represents the principal work intended to bring Cumberland's wastewater treatment into regulatory compliance.

Phase 2 involves additional environmental improvements that the Village has described as going beyond its minimum regulatory treatment requirements.

In September 2026, council authorized further Phase 2 work, including an extreme wet-weather system, a biochar reed bed and improvements involving the wastewater outfall.

These projects are intended to improve water quality and the treatment system's ability to manage difficult operating conditions.

The distinction matters. Additional Phase 2 work does not necessarily mean the completed Phase 1 system is failing to meet its regulatory requirements.

However, ongoing monitoring remains important.

The records reviewed for this article do not include a complete set of independently verified wastewater sampling results since the upgraded facility became operational.

Those results would provide the clearest evidence of how effectively the system is performing across different flow and weather conditions.

The Village maintains an overview of its wastewater improvements and construction updates on its wastewater upgrades website.

Cumberland's wastewater treatment lagoons and associated infrastructure. Major treatment upgrades became operational in March 2026.