Halifax Harbour Solutions Project

The Halifax Harbour Solutions Project will construct three sewage treatment plants (STPs) and associated sewagecollection systems (SCSs) to convey and treat the raw sewage at the level of primary treatment. The STPs have beendesigned and located such that they have the capacity to expand to secondary treatment in future if desired. The“Densadeg” technology will be used to consistently achieve an effluent discharge standard of fecal coliform counts lessthan 5000 per 100 millilitre (ml), five day biological oxygen demand of less than 50 millgrams per litre (mg/l) andsuspended solids less than 50 mg/l. The effluent will be disinfected by ultraviolet radiation (UV) for disinfection of humanpathogens. The reinvestment of debt service saving on this loan will result in a wide variety of projects over the ten-yearlife of the loan. Investments will be selected based on key principles for sustainability. The three most significant projectsoutlined for the first three years are: a program to increase awareness and enforcement about impact of materials putinto the sewage treatment system; bridge construction to increase accessibility for bicycle travel across the harbour; anda program to pilot test biodiesel in HRM fleet vehicles and boilers for the municipal building heating systems, as well asdetermining the feasibility of recycling engine oil in existing oil-burning boilers and furnaces. Environmental benefitsinclude both easily quantifiable emissions reduction and longer-term benefits relating to better planning practices anddevelopment of programs to get residents and business owners in the Region involved in reducing environmental impact.