Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion and Improvements
Site Plan:
New Clarifier Design
- The District currently produces 45,000kg of CO2 emissions annually from trucking biosolids to the Callaghan Composting Facility. This project will reduce biosolids production by approximately 10% resulting in a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions.
- This upgrade will reduce aeration requirements in the treatment process resulting in a 35% reduction in electricity consumption for aeration helping the District to achieve its municipal energy and emissions reduction targets.
A budget amendment was presented to Council on April 18, 2023, due to cost escalation related the project’s Request for Proposals (RFP) bids being significantly higher than anticipated when the financial plan (FP) was originally drafted. Read the Report to Council.
Cost escalation factors:
General cost escalation due to post-Covid pressures:
- Supply chain issues, delays and shortages.
- Increased materials cost.
- Increased labour costs.
Project-specific cost escalation:
- Ground improvement for improved seismic resiliency. Deep soil mixing was chosen due to tight space constraints and proximity to nearby infrastructure. Low vibration method, that reduced risk of settlement to existing infrastructure. Higher cost than alternative methods (stone columns, compaction piles). Cost $2.2M.
- BC cement shortages last summer due to supply chain issues and exacerbated by Lafarge plant fire. Further Increased costs for deep soil mixing which required a large volume of cement; and
- Contaminated soils were encountered onsite. Unknown condition at the time of budgeting. Expensive to delineate, remove and dispose of.