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Axel Meisen, C.M., P.Eng. FCAE
Consultant &
President – Canadian Commission for UNESCO
Alberta Onsite Wastewater Management Association Trade Show and Convention
Calgary, Alberta March 6, 2014
Wastewater Treatment Issues for Small Communities:
Implications for Onsite Wastewater Management
Vicki Lightbown, P.Eng
Project Specialist, Environmental Management
Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions
Disclaimer The contents of this presentation resulted, in part, from
a recent Technology Scouting project conducted at AI-
EES. They do not represent policies, positions or
commitments of the Government of Alberta or AI-EES.
Acknowledgements Certain images in this presentation were taken from
publicly available websites, with their use being
restricted to this presentation.
Some of the data contained in this presentation were
provided by Bijan Aidun (AESRD), Alf Durnie (AB
Municipal Affairs) and Ken Johnson (Stantec). They
are gratefully acknowledged.
2
Technology Scouting System (TSS)
WANT
FIND
GET
MANAGE
What external resources does the
organization WANT to obtain, e.g., ideas,
expertise, human resource skills, funding?
FIND responses to satisfy the WANT,
including retrospective and prospective
insights
GET the necessary resources and
agreements to meet the requirements of
the FIND
MANAGE the resulting project
3
Project Topic
Wastewater Treatment Technologies
and Management Systems for
Small Rural Communities in Alberta
Typical example: Hamlet of Acadia Valley, AB
Population ~140; M$1.1 in 2012 for lagoon upgrading 4
Definition of ‘Small Community‘: ● Up to 300 people, excluding
single homes, but including
clusters
● Rural location in AB
Technologies & management
systems
Current and potential
Funding sources & investors Current and potential
Regulations Current and drivers for change
Commercialization potential ~300 communities in Alberta
Purpose of Project for:
- Alberta
- AI-EES
● Environmental quality
● Improving Wastewater Treatment
● Financial benefits
● Guidance for investment decisions
Resources and & requirements Project Team; 3 months (pt)
WANT
5
FIND Current and Retrospective TS
Technologies
Scientific
basis
Wastewater treatment in small rural communities
involves up to 4 steps:
• Preliminary treatment (screening)
• Primary treatment (settling)
• Secondary treatment
• Residuals management
Steps are performed in ‘lagoon’ and ‘mechanical’
wastewater treatment systems
6
Effluent
Influent
Emergency
Outfall
Emergency
Bypass 12 month capacity storage cell
based on average daily design flow.
Max operating depth 3 m
60 day holding
capacity facultative
cell. Max operating
depth 1.5 m
2 or 4 anaerobic cells in series
each with 2 days holding capacity.
Operating depth 3.0 to 3.5 m
Lagoon Wastewater Treatment (Based on GoA Standards and Guidelines)
7
Arrowwood, AB (Pop. ~200)
The expansion to existing
lagoons cost k$821
Wastewater Lagoons in Alberta
Nordegg, AB (Pop. ~200)
The construction of aerated
lagoons cost M$2.6
8
Screen-
ing
Grit
removal
Scum &
sludge
removal
Aerobic
processes
Dis-
infection
Preliminary
treatment
Secondary
sludge
Primary
sludge Scum Grit
Screen-
ings
Influent Effluent
Primary
treatment
Secondary
treatment Disinfection
Mechanical Wastewater Treatment (Based on Environment Canada Literature)
9
Wastewater Treatment: Centralized
Centralized Wastewater
Treatment Facility
• Preliminary
• Primary
• Secondary
• (Disinfection)
10
Wastewater Treatment: Hybrid (Suitable for Clusters)
Local, Small WWT
Facility
• Preliminary
• Primary
• Secondary
• (Disinfection)
Septic (interceptor) tank providing
some treatment
11
Alberta Cluster Examples
Location Homes Interceptor Secondary Disinfection Discharge
# Tank Treatment
Habitat Acres
Sherwood Park
29 4,500 L Orenco
AdvanTex
None Soil dispersal
3’ below surface
Silverhorn Dev.
Rocky View
87 YES Orenco
AdvanTex
None Pressure
distribution into
back-filled
trench
Country Lakes
Leduc
15 YES Unknown Ultra violet Continuous
wetland injection
• Rocky View, Lacombe, Clearwater and Leduc
counties own and operate cluster systems
• Foothills, Warner, Beaver and Yellowhead counties
allow cluster systems but do not take ownership
• Alberta Environment prefers county ownership 12
FIND for Lagoons & Mechanical Systems
Current and Retrospective TS
Technologies
Required
Capabilities
Criteria (from Canada-wide Strategy for the Management
of Municipal Wastewater Effluent, 2009) for influent
>100 m3/d (Environment Canada Regulations, 2012):
• cBOD: 25 mg/L
• TSS: 25 mg/L
• Total Residual Cl: <0.02 mg/L
• Fecal coliform count: not stated
• Special compounds (P, N, Emerging
Substances of Concern): not stated
Canada has >3,500 wastewater treatment facilities
(of all sizes), many of which will require upgrading
13
FIND for Lagoons & Mechanical Systems
Current and Retrospective TS Community Population Project Grant, k$ Cost, k$ Acadia Valley 137 Lagoon expansion 344 459
Alliance 174 Lagoon upgrade 473 631
Arrowwood 188 Lagoon upgrade 616 821
Benalto 175 Mechanical Upgrade 420 560
Busby 98 Lagoon expansion and upgrade 1,703 2,271
Caley 265 Lagoon upgrade 400 533
Cereal 134 Mechanical plant 150 200
DeBolt 133 Mechanical Upgrade 663 884
Dewberry 201 Lagoon upgrade 667 889
Empress 188 Mechanical - new 727 969
Enilda 165 Lagoon upgrade 284 379
Faust 275 Lagoon upgrade 2,073 2,764
Fawcett 73 Lagoon upgrade 100 133
Jarvie 113 Lagoon upgrade 292 389
Joussard 181 Lagoon 3,668 4,891
Lousana 46 Mechanical Upgrade 420 560
Marie Reine 67 Lagoon upgrade 384 512
Patricia 108 Lagoon upgrade 925 1,233
Pibrock 83 Lagoon upgrade 100 133
Picardville 220 Lagoon upgrade 100 133
Rolling Hills 205 Lagoon upgrade 1,090 1,453
Scandia 154 Mechanical Upgrade 1,451 1,935
Seven Persons 270 Lagoon upgrade 1,402 1,869
Swalwell 101 Lagoon upgrade 451 601
Vilna 249 Mechanical Upgrade 239 319
Villeneuve 136 Lagoon upgrade 372 496
Vimy 205 Lagoon upgrade 100 133
Total 4,344 19,614 26,152
27 Sites,
2 years
14
FIND for Lagoons & Mechanical Systems
Current and Retrospective TS
Technologies
Operational
issues
• Operations and maintenance (O&M)
• Availability of technical personnel
15
FIND for Lagoons & Mechanical Systems
Current and Retrospective TS
Technologies
Operational
issues
• Sludge disposal
• Leaking liners
• Discharge into surface waters
16
FIND - Discharge from Interceptor Tanks
Current and Retrospective TS
Technologies
Operational
issues
• Discharge into soils
17 17
Drivers for change
in technology
sector and their
interactions
Regulations
• Implementation of the Canada-wide Strategy for
the Management of Municipal Wastewater Effluent
over 20 to 30 years (from 2009), resulting in B$10
to B$13 capital expenditures for new and
upgraded wastewater treatment plants; >50% to
be spent by 2019
• Special regulations for Canadian North (>60o) are
expected in Feb 2014
• Sludge and bio-solids management
FIND
Prospective TS
Financial Sustainability
• High operating costs for many small
communities, stimulating partnerships
• Full-cost accounting
• Aging infrastructure
18
Drivers for change
in technology
sector and their
interactions
Demographics
• Population decline in many small Alberta
communities
• Special provisions needed for communities <250
and declining at >10% p.a.
FIND
Prospective TS
19
Public Health and Environmental Concerns
• Compliance assurance
• Reduced water use and increased use of treated
water
• Availability of land for treatment facilities
• Public’s acceptance of nearby treatment facilities
• ‘Emerging Substances of Concern’
Insights into
characteristics of
technological
changes
Technologies are mature, causing changes to be
incremental and resulting in better and more cost-
effective performance
FIND
Prospective TS
Richard Krygier
(CFS / NRCan)
• Ohaton
• Whitecourt
• Beaverlodge
Willows for dewatering lagoons and bio-
energy production (Jönköping, Sweden)
20
Characterization of
potential future
Alberta, Canadian
and global markets
• Alberta: For 18 months ending Feb 2012, Alberta
Municipal Water / Wastewater Partnership: M$98;
plus M$66 from Alberta Municipal Sustainability
Initiative; GoC provided Alberta with an
additional M$44
• Canada: CAPEX will be ~B$6 for all wastewater
treatment facilities by 2019
• Canadian North (>60o): Market estimates are
unavailable till February 2014 report released.
This is a special market in which Alberta could
strengthen its presence
• Canadian aboriginal communities and GoC
installations: M$225 to be expended over next 20
years
• Global markets: Unknown, but likely many times
larger than the Canadian market
FIND
Prospective TS
21
Technology,
market and
community
barriers
• High CAPEX: Requirement for small communities
to raise 25% of capital funds
FIND
Prospective TS
• High OPEX: Most small communities are
challenged to meet O&M costs
Supervisory Control
and Data Acquisition
System
22
Technology,
market and
community
barriers
• Community acceptance: Location of new and
expanded plants (especially lagoons) is often
resisted by more affluent communities
FIND
Prospective TS
23
Conclusions
Regulations
• Government funding of capital expenditures
mainly for best practicable technologies (lagoons
and mechanical)
Technological Advances
• New technologies impeded by cost and reliability
• Incremental improvements in existing technologies
• Promising related areas: wastewater volume
reduction, bio-solids/sludge processing, (remote)
monitoring and control systems
24
Market
• Strong for new and upgraded wastewater
treatment facilities due to 2009 regulations
• High CAPEX (>$6,000 per capita) is a problem for
small communities, but significantly offset by
government support
• Small communities favour technologies with low
OPEX since there is no government support
Investments and Partnerships
• Few opportunities for private investment
• Private-public partnerships (P3s) can reduce costs,
especially when servicing several communities
Conclusions
25
Unexpected Results:
• Wastewater treatment in remote work camps
and seasonal facilities, many of which have
‘populations’ greater than 300
• Decommissioning and reclamation of lagoons
that are no longer needed
Conclusions
26
• Onsite wastewater treatments systems should
strive to be covered by government investment
strategies
• Wastewater discharges from larger onsite
treatment systems into soils needs to be
addressed, especially for cold climates
Conclusions for Onsite Systems
CAPEX <$6,000 per person
27