Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade, Greater Vancouver

The Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District, commonly known as Metro Vancouver, will conduct a feasibility study to guide the design of a new wastewater treatment plant to replace the Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant. Beyond its overall goal of meeting new federal and provincial wastewater treatment regulations and standards, Metro Vancouver envisions a model facility to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability. The existing plant has served the North Shore municipalities of West Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver since 1961. The new plant will be constructed on industrial land in the District of North Vancouver, as the land where the plant is currently sited is being returned to the Squamish Nation under a federal and provincial agreement. In designing the new plant, the city aims to maximize the energy recovered from liquid waste; use reclaimed effluent where suitable to reduce the use of potable water; minimize greenhouse gas emissions; and recycle onsite storm water. Furthermore, the technical team will study a range of tertiary treatment technologies, such as membrane bioreactors (a combination of filtration and biological processes) that could recover treated effluent or discharge it in a way that will benefit the local habitat. The team will also study the potential of recovering fuel and biosolids from the plant. As part of the study, Metro Vancouver will also develop a triple bottom line decision-making framework and will conduct a 40-year life cycle cost assessment for the proposed plant. Metro Vancouver has formally adopted an Integrative Design Process for this project, using an innovative multi-systems approach including human, biotic, and earth systems concerns, and prioritizing stakeholder participation. This process encourages community consultation and cooperation from the early planning stages through to construction. Metro Vancouver will also document its progress to allow rapid knowledge transfer to other areas of the province.