The Regional District of Nanaimo is pursuing grants for a feasibility study for side-stream ammonia removal in the waste sewage treatment process at the French Creek Pollution Control Centre.
The RDN board has endorsed a submission to the Green Municipal Funds administered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities that support of projects geared towards improving water quality.
The RDN’s Wastewater Services department has been collaborating with researchers at the University of Alberta on a project using a successful technology that can potentially reduce ammonia concentrations by 75 per cent and improve the effluent quality at the French Creek facility.
General manager engineering and utilities, Ellen Tian said removing ammonia in the waste water process has always been a challenge. Ammonia is toxic to fish in high concentrations.
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“Currently, there’s no, I would say, exact regulation to require the reduction in ammonium concentration there,” said Tian. “However, when we are looking to the long-term impact, especially the negative impact to the marine life in the sea, to reduce ammonium concentration there are lots of benefits, not only to be more responsible to the environment but also it is going to significantly improve the plant’s performance.”
A preliminary application for the feasibility study funding of up to $175,000 has been endorsed by FCM program confirming the project would meet program requirements and goals. Following the feasibility study, the RDN intends to submit another application for pilot plant funding.
The proposed technology that the RDN plans to implement, Tian said, has been successfully piloted in other municipalities in Calgary and Edmonton.
“That’s why we’re happy to jump in and bring in this opportunity,” said Tian.