athabasca water treatment plant upgrade
DESCRIPTION
Athabasca Water Treatment Plant UpgradeTRANSCRIPT
ATHABASCA WATER TREATMENT PLANT
ACCOMMODATING GROWTH Over the past 10 years, Alberta has experienced tremendous growth. In 2011,
Alberta’s population grew by 1.6 percent while the province’s economy expand-
ed by 3.3 percent, with the employment increasing by more than 77 000. In the
Regional Municipality of Wood Bu�alo, northeast of Edmonton, the average
annual growth rate was 7.4 percent between 2000 and 2010. As expected, the
booming growth rate ultimately put a strain on local resources and services,
especially water.
Designed in the 1980s, the existing water treatment plant located in Fort Mc-
Murray was built to service approximately 50 000 people with 32 million litres
of water per day (MLD). By 2003, however, it was recognized that the plant
would require an upgrade address more stringent regulatory requirements, a
growing service area, and of course, rapid population growth.
2 H Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Athabasca Water Treatment Plant H 3
The Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Upgrades
help accommodate a booming population in Alberta.
4 H Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Athabasca Water Treatment Plant H 5
“We started o� by optimizing the plant as
much as we can using the existing plant and
putting in the mechanical components to
optimize the treatment of water,” explains
Wes Holodniuk, Director of Engineering
and Transportation with the Regional Mu-
nicipality of Wood Bu�alo.
As a result, the Regional Municipality of
Wood Bu�alo decided to expand the plant
output to 50 MLD for a population of ap-
proximately 70 000.
“However, when we looked at the long-range
projection of growth, we saw we would re-
quire a major upgrade to the water treat-
ment plant to take us to the 133 000 popula-
tion threshold,” says Holodniuk.
FACILITY UPGRADES The facility improvements, which will be
completed by 2013, include (among many
others): a filtration capacity upgrade, filtra-
tion piping modifications, plant waste dis-
charge system upgrade, and plant site road-
way access modifications.
As with any construction project, the Atha-
basca Water Treatment Plant Upgrades
provides employment to local residents in
6 H Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Athabasca Water Treatment Plant H 7
the surrounding communi-
ties.
The project itself is a result
of collaborations of vari-
ous departments within the
regional municipality: En-
gineering, Environmental
Services, Accommodations,
Planning, Information
Technology, and Parks. The
project also benefits from
consulting expertise of As-
sociated Engineering and
contractor, Bird Construc-
tion Company.
Technological advances and
sustainable practices
With new regulatory re-
quirements to meet, the
project utilizes a number
of technological advances.
The building itself was de-
signed using LEED prin-
ciples and UV disinfection
8 H Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Athabasca Water Treatment Plant H 9
was installed. Further up-
grading the 1980s system, a
New Control System will be
installed and a Plant Waste
Management System will
help reduce the amount of
water waste. These features
not only create a more e¢-
cient and functional water
treatment facility, but they
also ensure the plant is well
prepared to meet the needs
and demands of the future.
The Athabasca Water
Treatment Plant Upgrades
project is also a green ini-
tiative, utilizing environ-
mentally-friendly and sus-
tainable practices in the
construction and in the
plant itself.
“We are definitely looking
at our energy consumption,
where our booster pumps
are, and how far we push
the water,” explains Holod-
niuk.
The building’s LEED prin-
ciples will be constructed
using high e¢ciency win-
dows to decrease the need
for air conditioning and
heating and the roof of the
administration’s new build-
ing will feature a solar and
green roof.
Constrained by the Atha-
basca River on two sides,
the escarpment on one side,
and bridge construction to
the north, the project hasn’t
been without its share of
challenges.
Holodniuk says operating
the plant everyday while
treating water and doing
construction at the same
8 H Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Athabasca Water Treatment Plant H 9
time has also been particu-
larly challenging.
“We’ve had to move our lab
and our whole control pan-
el, relocate sta� and opera-
tions. Site security, safety,
and making sure everything
operates are our biggest
concerns,” he says. Since
construction and day-to-day
operations are occurring on
site simultaneously, Holod-
niuk also says safety is a top
priority for the project.
“We want to make sure ev-
eryone knows what safety
parameters are in place for
evacuation or emergency
because we’re doing two
di�erent operations on the
same site,” he explains.
Building for the future
Although the project has not
received any o¢cial awards
10 H Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Athabasca Water Treatment Plant H 11
to date, they are certainly
on the right path to recog-
nition for their innovation,
resourcefulness, and prob-
lem solving.
Holodniuk is particularly
proud of the fact that al-
though the project is slight-
ly under budget, they are
on schedule and things are
running smoothly.
“And I guess I am going to
knock on wood. We’ve been
able to operate and con-
struct at the same time and
things are running relative-
ly smoothly,” he says.
The Regional Municipal-
ity has a number of other
plans to help service the
region’s growing and dis-
persing population. The
Comprehensive Regional
Infrastructure Sustainabili-
ty Plan (CRISP), which was
planned by the Government
of Alberta, will be imple-
mented in the region. The
CRISP will establish a long-
term blueprint for future
infrastructure development
that will match economic
development in the area.
With a current population
of 104 338, the Regional
Municipality of Wood Buf-
falo will continue to grow
substantially in the coming
years and with the Athabas-
ca Water Treatment Plant
Upgrades project underway,
future residents can be sure
they will continue to have
access to safe, high quality
drinking water.
10 H Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Athabasca Water Treatment Plant H 11
For more information www.town.athabasca.ab.ca
As seen in March issue of JARKS BUSINESS CANADA magazine at www.jarks.ca