March 27, 2009

An aerial view of the Mid-Halton Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Expansion of Mid-Halton Wastewater Treatment Plant offers challenges

DAN O’REILLY

correspondent

OAKVILLE

While a large natural buffer minimizes inconvenience to — and complaints from — nearby residents, a $36-million expansion of the Mid-Halton Wastewater Treatment Plant in Oakville isn’t without its challenges.

“A sewage plant can’t shut down. We still have to keep the plant operating, even with all this work under way, plus tying the new equipment and buildings into the existing plant,” says Susan Liver, special project engineer with Halton Region’s public works and engineering services.

Consulting engineer is AECOM (originally retained as KMK). Toronto-based King City Group is the general contractor overseeing the project which has included the construction of an approximately 1,500-square-metre biosolids building, a 300-square-metre blower building, the excavation and installation of two aeration tanks and two new secondary clarifiers and other equipment.

Another critical component of the project was the installation of two new electrical feeds, which provide redundancy of power supply.

This is the third phase of the plant which was originally built in 1991. This expansion is being driven by rapid growth in Oakville, parts of Milton and in Halton Hills along Highway 401, says Liver.

“The project will increase the plant’s capacity from 50,000 cubic metres per day to 75,000 cubic metres, enabling it to serve a population of approximately 67,000 residents, as well as commercial, industrial and institution facilities.”

Located on the North Service Road between Bronte Road and the Third Line, the plant was originally designed to allow for modular, phased expansion while still leaving a large natural buffer between nearby residential areas.

That design, combined with its location and operating practices has enabled the region to successfully control odours.

To maintain that track record, the region is installing new biofilter odour control equipment in the biosolids building.

“We will continue to use best practices and don’t expect odour issues to arise.”

As well is the measures to control odours, every effort is made to minimize disruption to nearby residents during construction. For the most part, construction is restricted to weekdays, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Construction started in June 2007 and is now approximately 70 per cent complete, with anticipation completion by the end of this year, says Liver.

Even as work crews push to meet that deadline, the region is planning for the fourth phase in an effort to keep pace with growth.

An environmental assessment phase has just started, with a construction start tentatively planned for 2011, she says.

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