Kamloops Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrade
Type of initiative
FCM Green Municipal Fund - Capital Project
Sector
Water
Project value$38,040,000
Project Type
Capital Project
Sub Sector
Wastewater Management and Treatment
Grant amount$400,000
Program type
GMF
Municipality
City of Kamloops, BC
Loan amount$10,000,000
Status
Fully Disbursed
Population
97,902
Project timeline
2009 - 2014
Project number
10356
Description
The City of Kamloops plans to upgrade its sewage treatment plant to improve the quality of effluent, the bulk of which is discharged to the Thompson River.
The current treatment process involves anaerobic and aerated lagoons with the addition of alum. The project will create two parallel treatment trains. For one treatment train, the city will convert some of the plant’s existing lagoons into an activated sludge treatment process to treat 80 per cent of the city’s sewage. This will produce a higher quality effluent for discharge into the Thompson River. The other 20 per cent of the city’s sewage will bypass the activated sludge process and receive treatment in the lagoon system. The effluent from this second treatment process will be re-used to irrigate crops and golf course lands. In this case, higher levels of phosphorus and nitrogen are not only acceptable, but beneficial. The upgraded plant will also feature methane gas capture and ultraviolet light disinfection. The city will replace some of the plant’s piping, the headworks screen, the aeration diffuser and other components.
It is projected that the Total Suspended Solids (TTS) will be reduced from 13 to 10 mg/L, the five day Carbonaceous Oxygen Demand (CBOD5) will be reduced from 4.6 to 4 mg/L, and the system will not require the use of Chlorine. Furthermore, the upgrades will result in the following reductions in the effluent: ammonia toxicity will be reduced by 100 per cent, total phosphorus by 60 per cent, five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) by 29 per cent, and faecal coliform by 12 per cent. The project will replace aging infrastructure, improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and recover resources such as biosolids, methane gas and waste heat. The improved effluent quality will safeguard the water supplies of downstream communities, protect human health and reduce noxious odours. By converting some of the lagoons to an activated sludge process, the city will save an estimated $0.4 million annually.
(Project description from original funding application)
Project results
- 10751492 cubic metres of water treated per year
Environmental outcomes
- Reduced energy use
- Reduced or avoided GHG emissions
- Reduced water consumption
- Improved waste management
- Reduced hazardous residuals from water treatment
- Brownfield restoration
- Minimal environmental impact
- Biodiversity and ecosystem protection
- Reduced odour pollution
Social outcomes
- Protection/improvement of public human health
Economic outcomes
- Reduced maintenance costs
- Innovative financing
- Lower taxes and fees
- Increased tourism
- Use of feasibility tools
- Improved demand management
Lessons learned
- Stakeholder and community engagement
- Council support/buy-in
- Communication & coordination
- Data and reporting
- Resources
- External factors
- Technical – Project specific
Applicant
City of Kamloops, BC