Arthur Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Upgrade

The Township of Wellington North will upgrade its 40 year old Arthur wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in order to accommodate the servicing requirements of projected population growth in the area and improve the quality of effluent that the plant discharges into the Conestogo River. The Township proposes to upgrade its lagoon-based plant over two phases with an anticipated completion date by the end of 2025. The project aligns with multiple municipal policies and plans, such as the Wellington North Strategic Plan and the Community Growth Plan, which call for accommodating the future growth forecasts for the Township by investing in related infrastructure. The first phase of the initiative, which is the portion of the project funded by GMF, will include an upgrade to the sewage pumping station that will significantly reduce the incidence of overflow events. The addition of an equalization tank will then eliminate bypass events at the plant. Inherent in this design are energy saving measures such as replacing the existing 60 horsepower (HP) aeration blowers with variable frequency drive 25HP blowers, as well as inserting more energy efficient sludge digesters. In addition, an alum dosing system upgrade will ensure that the total phosphorus in the final effluent meets the new limits of 0.25 mg/l. This first phase will bring the WWTP’s capacity from 1,465 m3/d to 1,860 m3/d. A future second phase will further increase effluent quality by installing a new headworks building and converting the equalization tank to a secondary treatment unit. Additional upgrades to the effluent pumping system will further improve the energy efficiency of the system. The second phase will increase the WWTP’s capacity to 2,300 m3/d. Weekly effluent testing and monitoring of the energy consumption of both the current and planned blowers will help track energy savings and associated CO2e reductions. The upgraded lagoon system will increase the overall WWTP’s treatment capacity by 57% and improve the quality of wastewater by reducing carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD5) by 50%, total suspended solids (TSS) by 50%, phosphorus by 75%, nitrogen by 98%, and ammonia nitrogen by 66%. The proposed plan will also reduce wastewater overflows to the river. The more efficient aeration blowers will use 60% less energy, reduce 21 tonnes of CO2e/yr and save the municipality an annual $27,250 in electricity costs. The conversion of the equalization tank into a secondary treatment tank will make the best use of infrastructure and reduce waste generation by 1,608 tonnes. By increasing the servicing capacity of the treatment plant, the proposed upgrade will enable community and employment growth in the area. The expansion will also allow an additional 600 houses to connect to the sewage system, bringing additional revenues to the municipality. (Project description from original funding application)