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Summerland staff recommends $100K study to look at $4.2M upgrade of water treatment plant

District of Summerland staff are recommending Council approve a $100,000 feasibility study to review the priorities and challenges associated with a proposed $4.2 million upgrade of the District’s water treatment plant.

In a report from Kris Johnson, director of works and utilities in Summerland, staff recommends $100,000 be reallocated to complete a feasibility study and conceptual designs for the “elimination of chlorine gas and expansion of the clearwell at the water treatment plant (WTP).

A project referred to as the WTP Upgrade - Centrifuge Dewatering Project was approved by Summerland Council as part of its 2018 water capital plan.

“The residual ponds and landfill drying beds were put in place as a temporary solution about nine years ago to improve the handling of residual waste resulting from the treatment process,” says the report. “In recent years, too much wastewater being sent to the drying beds caused them to ‘blind off’ and not allow the water to infiltrate.”

<who>Photo Credit: File Photo </who>Summerland Council will discuss Monday a staff recommendation to spend $100,000 on a feasibility study and conceptual designs for a proposed $4.2 million upgrade of the District's water treatment plant.

In 2017, the District engaged Opus International Consultants to study the residuals handling, which included both long term solutions to deal with treatment process waste as well as short-term solutions to help improve this process in the interim, said the report.

Based on this study and staff’s review, the project was included in the 2018 budget for $100,000 approved to complete a conceptual design of a system that will help deal with the waste from the WTP.

This would include a centrifuge and dewatering facility and would eliminate the need to pump waste water from the residual ponds at the WTP to the drying beds at the landfill.

The estimated construction cost of the centrifuge and dewatering facility is $4.2 million says the report.

<who>Photo Credit: File Photo

In 2018, some mechanical and process changes were implemented that have reduced the amount of water being pumped to the drying beds allowing them to function properly.

Although the centrifuge and dewatering facility is still the ultimate solution for the residuals handling process, the improvements made have reduced the urgency to complete this work and more pressing challenges with the WTP have come to the forefront, said the report.

“Chlorine gas is one of those challenges, primarily from a safety standpoint for both staff and the public,” said the report. “Chlorine has been part of the treatment process in the WTP since its inception. Along with other disinfection methods, chlorine combats waterborne diseases and is used to inactivate pathogens, making water safe for public consumption.

“The concern is that exposure to chlorine gas poses significant risk to staff and the public, ranging from skin and respiratory irritation to death. Due to this potential extreme risk, there are many precautions in place such as sealed storage rooms and the use fully encapsulated chemical suits with SCBA masks and oxygen tanks.

“Regular training is conducted with water operators as well as with the fire department, who act as safety back-up for staff in emergency chlorine situations.”

<who>Photo Credit: District of Summerland </who>District of Summerland Council will discuss Monday a staff recommendation to spend $100,000 on a feasibility study relating to the District's water treatment plant.

In the event of a significant leak from the WTP, chlorine gas could inundate the residential area below the WTP in the Prairie Valley area creating a significant risk to the public, said the report.

Since chlorine gas is heavier than air, all areas downhill from the WTP could be affected.

Minor failures in the chlorine system have caused interruptions in the chlorine disinfection process which have resulted in boil water notices for the entire District. A number of WTPs have successfully implemented alternative disinfection systems such as liquid sodium hypochlorite.

“Staff recommend a consultant be engaged to prepare a conceptual design report to assess alternative disinfection systems including a detailed review of items such as safety, containment, corrosiveness, capital costs and operational costs of other systems,” said the report.

Another challenge is the limited volume of the clearwell, which is the location where treated water is stored at the WTP, says the report.

This has been a major contributor to boil water notices in the past, especially during the summer months when water demand is significantly higher.

<who>Photo Credit: Facebook District of Summerland

The clearwell volume is currently 4,489 cubic metres. During the summer, the total demand volume in a 24 hour period can be as high as 75,000 cubic meters.

“Therefore the clearwell volume only equates to approximately 6% of this daily volume,” says the report. “The supplemental line is typically set to open once the clearwell has reached 25% capacity which takes approximately one hour during high demands and assuming the clearwell is 100% full.

“Between the time lost when the clearwell is not full, the time it takes for the alarm to reach the operator and the time it takes the operator to get to the WTP, there is often only 15-20 minutes available for the operator to determine the issue and correct it, before the supplemental line is opened.

“This does not provide much time for staff to troubleshoot and resolve the issues and get the WTP up and running again.”

WTP shutdowns can be caused by severe weather events, power failures and mechanical failures, says the report.

There are two options to alleviate this issue and allow more time to troubleshoot an issues that cause the WTP shutdown - either reduce the demand in the summer months by continuing to separate the irrigation system from the domestic system or increase the volume of treated water storage, said the report.

Although further system separation projects are planned for in the future, these projects are relatively expensive as they include other infrastructure improvements and may not provide significant reductions in demand volumes in comparison to the cost of the project, says the report.

“Increasing the clearwell volume may provide higher cost-benefit value and should be a consideration in the long term plan for the water system,” says the report. “Therefore, staff recommend engaging a consultant to complete a feasibility and pre-design report to assess possible options to increase treated water storage at the WTP.”

To view the staff report, click here.



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