athabasca water treatment plant upgrade

ATHABASCA WATER TREATMENT PLANT

2 H Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Athabasca Water Treatment Plant H 3

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.


The Athabasca Water Treatment Plant Upgrades

help accommodate a booming population in Alberta.


“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


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


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


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


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.


For more information www.town.athabasca.ab.ca

As seen in March issue of JARKS BUSINESS CANADA magazine at www.jarks.ca

http://www.town.athabasca.ab.ca

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