So glad you asked!

Several independent sources have verified that not only is the Capital Cost of the onsite treatment plant  substantially lower than that of a pipeline, but so are the Operation and Maintenance Costs (O&M). The two categories combined, over a period of time (i.e.: 75 years), make up the "Life Cycle Costs".

The forcemains to the outlying areas of Carp, Stittsville, Richmond, and Glen Cairn, (to name those closest to us), have been very problematic. Private companies (like Sewermatic) make millions of dollars, every year, attempting to unplug these lines. These lines clog when sewage, transported over long distances, becomes "septic", and generates hazardous and corrosive gasses (i.e.: H2S and methane), which require high maintenance, and shorten the lifetime of equipment.

Goulbourn's own Engineer, (with J.Stavinga present), provided the following assessment to Council:
"There are several technical problems related to the transmission of sewage over long distances through forcemains, particularly due to the relatively small amount of sewage from Munster, and the length of time that the sewage spends in the forcemain. These technical problems and the associated costs have not been taken into account in any of these estimates." Michael Pinet, P.Eng., Township Engineer (May 22, 1997 Report to Goulbourn Council.

There is an even bigger issue here: whether Ottawa should continue using one centralized treatment plant (ROPEC), or start decentralizing, like most other cities. (Kingston, for example, has three sewage treatment plants, to avoid long distance conveyance costs, and Kingston is much smaller than Ottawa.) Ottawa also has the unique ADDED HANDICAP of the Greenbelt, which puts huge distances between outlying communities and the ROPEC Treatment Plant in Gloucester. The City has just announced plans to DOUBLE the size of ROPEC, rather than decentralize. (Words like, "lunacy", "bundling incompetence", spring to mind.) It is our children and grandchildren who will severely pay for such folly! Just remember, Folks, these are the same politicians and bureaucrats who brought you the $55,000,000 ($38-M Capital, $17-M Follow-up Costs), Ottawa South Collector ---and THEY'RE STILL THERE!