Investing in water and sanitation produces
substantial economic gains
Women in developing
countries
often spend
hours daily
fetching water.
Investments in water can be an engine for accelerated economic
growth, sustainable development, improved health
and reduced poverty. Those are the main messages of a
report just released by the Stockholm
International Water Institute (SIWI).
For example, the report finds that
poor countries with access to
improved water and sanitation services
have enjoyed an annual average
growth of 3.7% of GDP, while those
without adequate investment saw their
GDP grow at just 0.1% annually.
The report, entitled "Making Water
a Part of Economic Development: The
Economic Benefits of Improved
Water Management and Services",
shows how investments in the water
sector can generate economic benefits
that considerably outweigh costs and
contribute to human development. The
report was developed jointly by SIWI
and the World Health Organization on
behalf of the Governments of Norway and Sweden.
The report, along with a companion fact sheet entitled
"Driving Development by Investing in Water and
Sanitation," is available on-line at www.siwi.org.
Peel Council endorses
waste collection and
disposal contract
Peel Regional Council in Ontario has
authorized staff to execute an agreement
with Waste Management of
Canada Corporation (WMCC) for
waste collection and disposal services.
Under the agreement, WMCC will
provide collection services for municipal
solid waste, recyclables, yard waste
and organics in the cities of Brampton
and Mississauga. The contract is
scheduled to commence April 1, 2006,
for 10 years. In addition, the agreement
provides for 20 years of waste
landfill disposal services commencing
July 1, 2007.
Regional Council awarded the combined
waste collection and disposal
contract to WMCC on the basis their
proposal provides the Region with
continuity in its collection services,
short-term disposal capacity in the
event of a border closure preventing
transfer of waste to Michigan and the
opportunity to secure long-term
Ontario-based landfill capacity.
The five-year contract with Wilson
Logistics Inc. and Republic Services
Inc. to haul and dispose of the Region’s
residual municipal solid waste in
Michigan, U.S. expires in June 2007.
Republic Services disposes the waste
at Carleton Farms Landfill in Wayne
County, Michigan. Currently, any of
Peel’s waste that cannot be accommodated
at the Algonquin Power Energy
from Waste Facility and the Caledon
Sanitary Landfill Site is shipped to
Michigan.
North Battleford fined
$80,000 for sewage spills
The City of North Battleford
Saskatchewan pleaded guilty and was
assessed a penalty of $80,000 in
Provincial Court for violating the federal
Fisheries Act, following an
Environment Canada investigation into
sewage spills at the North Battleford
wastewater treatment plant in 2003.
Penalties include a $10,000 fine, an
additional $20,000 to reimburse
Environment Canada for costs related
to the case, and $50,000 to be paid to
the Environmental Damages Fund.
The court also ordered the City to
have its new wastewater treatment
plant in operation by November 30,
2005, or face a $25,000 fine for every
subsequent month that the plant is not
in operation.
The City was charged for sewage
spills that occurred on January 16,
February 14 and June 14, 2003, and for
effluent samples obtained during a
July 29, 2003 search and seizure at the
treatment plant that were found to be
deleterious to fish.
Professor hails national
strategy for invasive
species
York University biology professor,
Norman Yan, is applauding the Federal
government’s recent announcement of
$85 million in new funds to develop a
national strategy on invasive species.
“This major financial commitment
shows that the study of invasive
species is finally getting the attention
it deserves at the highest levels,” Yan
says. “We have known for years about
how pollution, habitat alteration and
resource harvesting affect ecosystems,
and we have policies, systems and
agencies to address these issues. It is
only recently that the introduction of
invasive species has been identified as
the fourth major impact humans can
have on the environment.”
While only a small proportion of
these invasive species is likely to be
causing damage to the eco-system, a
significant number are threatening our
surface waters, forests and farms.
Canadians might be surprised to hear
that the financial impact of invasive
species on our economy has been estimated
as high as $18 to $30 billion per
year.
Yan’s special focus, the spiny
water flea, is only one of over 1,400
identified non-indigenous species that
have established themselves in
Canada’s lands and waters – often
through ballast-transfer from oceangoing
freighters since the St. Lawrence
Seaway was built in 1959.
Countless numbers of these microscopic
fleas have recently invaded the Great Lakes and are now spreading
inland, where their proliferation has
begun to cause biological problems in
Ontario’s surface waters. Yan’s groundbreaking
study of the water flea’s
impact on Harp Lake, a tiny lake in
central Ontario, is getting international
acclaim in scientific circles and is one
of many studies which have spurred
the Federal government to make its
crucial promise to address invasive
species in its budget.
It was February 1955 when three
young engineers from Queen’s, Les
Richards, Noel Kirby and Art Fee,
launched J.L. Richards & Associates
Limited from a small office on
Gilmour Street in Ottawa.
Throughout the late 1950s and ‘60s,
JLR undertook designs and study
reports on water supply and sewage
collection systems for many of the
small towns and villages in Eastern
Ontario.
This laid the groundwork for
O.W.R.C. (and later, MOE) servicing
and treatment plant projects for these
same towns and villages in the 1970s
and ‘80s. Many of these plants are now
undergoing second generation expansions,
again with JLR assistance.
There are JLR plants and/or plant
expansions in Barry’s Bay, Cobden,
Renfrew, Eganville, Merrickville,
Winchester, Rockland, Alfred,
Casselman, Plantagenet, Pembroke,
Petawawa, Sudbury, Timmins,
Hawkesbury and Kingston.
Partnership for transformer
and oil services puts
new focus on recycling
PCB Containment Technology
(Kitchener) Inc. and sister company
Fluorescent Lamp Recyclers (FLR)
Technologies Inc. have acquired AF
White Ltd.
AF White provides industry and
utilities with new quality, recycled
transformer oil as well as associated
site services. ConTech and FLR recycle
and treat PCB contaminated oil and
equipment, fluorescent lamps, as well
as mercury and other hazardous waste.
The new expanded company will provide
for the treatment and recycling of
all transformer oils as well as the obsolete
transformers themselves.
AF White will continue to work out
of their recycling/treatment facility in
Brantford, Ontario, while ConTech and
FLR continue to operate out of their
treatment/transfer facility in Ayr,
Ontario. For further information visit www.contech.ca
Infrastructure security
guidelines issued
to water utilities
Drinking water and wastewater utilities
working to incorporate enhanced
security measures into facility design
and operation can now benefit from
three new interim voluntary security
guidance documents that were funded
by a grant from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
The interim voluntary guidance
documents provide drinking water,
wastewater and stormwater utilities
with practical assistance for implementing
improved security measures
in new and existing facilities of all sizes, addressing risks from managerial,
operational, construction and
design perspectives. The water sector
industry will benefit from these documents
by gaining insight into utilities'
present and future needs, which will
help to mitigate risks associated with
intentional attacks and natural disasters.
The interim voluntary guidelines
were developed by the American Water
Works Association (AWWA), the
Water Environment Federation (WEF)
and American Society of Civil
Engineers (ASCE). "Interim Voluntary
Security Guidance for Water Utilities"
(developed by AWWA), "Interim
Voluntary Security Guidance for
Wastewater Utilities" (developed by
WEF) and "Interim Voluntary
Guidelines for Designing an Online
Contaminant Monitoring System"
(developed by ASCE) are available on
each organization's website as follows:
www.awwa.org, www.wef.org and
www.asce.org.
Dofasco fined for oil spill
Dofasco Inc. has been fined $60,000,
plus a victim fine surcharge, for a
January 2000 oil spill. The incident
occurred when a significant amount of
wash oil spilled from a company byproduct
mill storm sewer outfall, eventually
discharging into Hamilton
Harbour. The spill resulted in the
deaths of more than 100 ducks, birds
and waterfowl as well as numerous
fish. Dofasco Inc. officials did not
report the spill until approximately 3.5
hours after the oil was spotted in the
boat slip. The court found that the
company should have reported the
spill immediately to MOE rather than
delay the report while it investigated
the cause of the spill.
Tiny Township fined for
failure to sample for nitrate
The Corporation of the Township of
Tiny in Ontario has been fined a total
of $21,500, plus victim fine surcharges.
It owns and operates 19 communal
drinking water systems servicing
approximately 10,000 residents in
Simcoe County.
On April 4, 2005, the Corporation
pleaded guilty to five counts of failing
to sample for nitrate at five separate
water distribution systems, contrary to
Section 7 of Regulation 459/00 made
under the OWRA.
Ontario reviews
requirements for smaller
private water systems
The Advisory Council on Drinking
Water Quality and Testing Standards
recently released its final report on
requirements for Ontario’s smaller, private
drinking water systems.
The advisory council held 12 public
consultation sessions in smaller communities
across the province. It has
recommended a new way of regulating
water systems for facilities such as
churches, community halls, bed and
breakfasts and tourist outfitters. Key
recommendations include providing
public health units with responsibility
for inspecting these systems, and caseby-
case risk evaluations to establish
testing and treatment requirements.
For more information, visit www.ene.gov.on.ca
Septage and liquid
industrial waste hauler
fined for EPA violations
Drain Problems Ltd. and Edward
James Ramsay have been fined a total
of $17,000, plus victim fine surcharges,
after pleading guilty to a total
of ten counts under the Environmental
Protection Act (EPA).
The company hauls septage and liquid
industrial waste in the County of
Peterborough, Ontario. At the time of
the offences, Mr. Ramsay managed the
company’s operations.
The court heard that, in response to
public complaints, Ministry of the
Environment (MOE) staff investigated
the company’s operations between
March 25 and 27, 2003. During the
investigation, a number of violations
were identified including:
Using an unauthorized vehicle to
transport grease trap waste.
Failing to provide to the ministry, in
two separate instances, notification of
a change of business address.
Disposing of hauled sewage at an
unauthorized site.
Without the required MOE approval,
permitting a company truck to be used
to collect and transport septage.
Contrary to the company’s provisional
certificate of approval, transporting
biosolids on four occasions.
Permitting the driver of a vehicle
used for the transportation of liquid
industrial waste to operate the vehicle
without appropriate training.
British Columbia adds
12 water specialists to
improve protection
The government of British Columbia
is investing $1.2 million to hire 12
additional water specialists to focus on
groundwater and surface water protection.
Two groundwater hydrologists, four
groundwater protection officers, five
drinking water source protection specialists
and one database administrator,
will be located throughout the
Province. Communities getting the
new positions include:
Penticton and Prince George
(groundwater hydrologists).
Nanaimo, Surrey, Kamloops,
Nelson, Prince George and Victoria
(groundwater officers and/or drinking
water source protection specialists).
Victoria (database administrator).
The 12 new water specialists will
work closely with local government,
health officials, water suppliers and
the well drilling industry to further
protect and manage BC’s water supplies
and safety.
Among their responsibilities will be
assisting with the implementation of
BC’s new groundwater protection regulations.
Introduced last year, the regulations
are the first of their kind in
B.C, designed to protect the Province’s
groundwater supplies. About 750,000
British Columbians get their drinking
water from groundwater supplies.
BC boosts
environment funding
A $7.8 million increase for the
Ministry of Water, Land and Air
Protection’s 2004/05 budget will help
the Province build on the significant
progress it has made supporting habitat
and wildlife protection and restoration
projects across BC.
The Habitat Conservation Trust
Fund (HCTF) will use $6.5 million of
the $7.8 million budget to manage and
support its ongoing conservation
efforts by providing additional funding
to community groups who undertake
conservation projects.
The Province has committed in its
2005 budget an additional $150 million
to enhance environmental protection
and land-use certainty in British
Columbia, including:
$91 million for the investigation and remediation of contaminated sites on
Crown land.
$5 million to increase the capacity
of the Environmental Assessment
Office.
$16 million to increase the number
of park rangers and conservation officers
and establish a BC Conservation
Corps to provide employment opportunities
for students.
$30 million to support land-use
planning activities including the completion
and implementation of Land
and Resource Management Plans.
$8 million to implement the
Drinking Water Protection Act, including
research into the protection of surface
and groundwater.
New Brunswick
air quality improves
Long-term trends for air quality in New
Brunswick continue to show improvements
throughout the Province.
The Report on Air Quality
Monitoring Results for 2003 found
that:
Acid rain: trends continued downward.
Auditing of third party monitoring
sites: more sites were audited than in
2002, and compliance was generally
good.
S02 levels in Saint John increased in
comparison to 2002. Some notably
high S02 levels were recorded at the
new Paper Mill Pond site. These S02
episodes were the subject of an official
Environment and Local Government
investigation resulting in the Irving
Refinery paying an administrative
penalty for exceeding the S02 limits for
Saint John County.
Volatile organic compound (VOC)
levels in Saint John were also up in
2003 compared with 2002.
The results in this report show that
the average compliance rate for regulated
air emissions throughout the
province in 2003 was greater than 99
per cent, with only a few sites having
compliance rates of less than 95 per
cent.
New regulations introduced by the
government of Nova Scotia will require a 25 per cent reduction of sulphur
dioxide by the end of 2005, and a
further 25 per cent reduction by the
end of 2010. Reductions are from 2001
levels.
The reductions will be achieved
through a lower cap on emissions for
Nova Scotia Power Inc., emission
reduction plans for other large emitters,
and by reducing the sulphur content
of heavy fuel oil used in the
Province.
“These regulations mean we’ll have
about 36,000 fewer tonnes of sulphur
dioxide emitted each year,” said
Environment and Labour Minister
Kerry Morash “That’s comparable to
Nova Scotia Power shutting down one
of its five generating stations.”
In addition, the power company will
have a new limit on mercury emissions.
By 2009, it will also reduce its
nitrogen oxide emissions by 20 per
cent from 2000 levels. For further
information go to www.gov.ns.ca/enla.
Irving Oil ordered to
reduce emissions in
New Brunswick
Irving Oil Ltd. is being ordered to limit
emissions from its sulphur block to a
level that should significantly reduce
exceedances south of the Saint John,
New Brunswick refinery.
The sulphur block is one of the
major sources of sulphur dioxide emissions
in the refinery and is considered
to be the main contributor to recent
exceedances.
Environment and Local Government
Minister Brenda Fowlie recently
announced an amendment to that
effect to Irving Oil’s Approval to
Operate for its Saint John refinery.
“To date, reductions in emissions
from the sulphur block have not been
sufficient to resolve the exceedances at
the Paper Mill Pond ambient monitoring
site,” Fowlie said.
“Therefore, Irving Oil must provide
the department with details related to
equipment to be installed to alleviate
exceedances at the Paper Mill Pond,
and provide a plan by May 31, 2005,
stating how they propose to reduce
emissions to the levels stated in their
1998 Environment Impact Assessment
(EIA) Registration.”
The minister said Irving Oil is also
required to install a permanent ambient
sulphur dioxide monitor and
weather tower on Midwood Avenue by
June 15, 2005, and maintain a temporary
air quality monitor until the permanent
one is in place.
Beginning February 1, 2005, electronics
retailers are required to collect an
environmental fee when new televisions
or computers (and related equipment)
are purchased in Alberta. The
fee will cover the cost of collection,
transportation and recycling of electronic
materials, public information
and awareness programs and electronics
recycling-related research.
This fee is part of Alberta’s new
electronics recycling program, the first
of its kind in Canada. Since the program
was launched last October,
Albertans have been dropping off
unwanted televisions and computers to
over 75 collection locations across the
province.
In 2004, an estimated 190,000 televisions
and 90,000 desktop computers
- which contain hazardous materials
such as lead and mercury - were discarded
from Alberta households.
For further information visit www.albertarecycling.ca.
Irving Pulp and Paper
fined for untreated
effluent discharge
Following investigation by Environment
Canada’s Enforcement Officers, Irving
Pulp and Paper pleaded guilty in New
Brunswick provincial court for a violation
that occurred on December 3, 2002
when the company deposited untreated
paper mill effluent into Little River in
Saint John during a test of a back-up
generator.
The penalty of $30,000 includes a
$2,500 fine to be paid to the court,
$22,500 to be directed to environmental
research by the Biology Department
of the University of New Brunswick in
Saint John and $5,000 to be paid to the
Government of Canada’s Environmental
Damages Fund, administered by
Environment Canada.
Initiatives to reduce toxic
substances in
wastewater effluent
The Federal government has announced
two measures aimed at reducing
ammonia and chlorine coming from
municipal wastewater treatment plants.
The two instruments, pollution prevention
planning for chlorine and a
guideline for ammonia, are the first
components of a long-term strategy for
municipal wastewater effluent to
ensure that the release of wastewater
effluents does not pose unacceptable
risks to human and ecosystem health
and fishery resources across Canada.
In November 2003, federal, provincial
and territorial Environment
Ministers (through the Council of
Canadian Ministers of the Environment)
agreed to develop by 2006, a Canadawide
Strategy for the management of
municipal wastewater effluent. The
Federal government’s principal tool to
implement this strategy will be a regulation
under the Fisheries Act. This
will protect the environment and
human health while aligning with
measures by the provinces and municipalities
in the planning of their investments
for municipal wastewater treatment.
In 2001, ammonia and chlorine in
wastewater effluent were determined to
be toxic and harmful to a wide variety of
fish, and other aquatic life. Environment
Canada has consulted extensively to
determine the best possible instrument
to reduce these substances in wastewater
effluents. The pollution prevention planning
requirements aim to achieve and
maintain a concentration of total residual
chlorine that is not acutely toxic in
the effluent released to surface water by
December 2009. The objective of the
guideline for ammonia dissolved in
water is to achieve and maintain a concentration
of ammonia in the effluent
that is not acutely lethal to fish, and does
not induce chronic toxicity in the receiving
waters.
The final instruments were published
in the Canada Gazette, Part 1 in
December 2004 and can be found at: www.ec.gc.ca/CEPARegistry.
New OETC approved
training for water and
wastewater operators
Siemens Milltronics has launched
training courses to help water/wastewater
operators meet their yearly training
requirements and, simultaneously,
develop their instrumentation expertise
with water/wastewater applications
and level measurement control.
Operator courses and licensing are
regulated for the Ministry of the
Environment by the Ontario
Environmental Training Consortium
(OETC) which ensures that operators
take courses which are relevant to their
work and which are certified to be
compliant with current legislation and
environmental practices. In 2004, the
OETC certified four courses offered
by Siemens Milltronics: Dual Pump
Pumping Applications, Open Channel
Flow Measurement Principles, Water
and Wastewater Plant Level Control,
and Data Communications.
The courses are offered at the
Siemens Milltronics Learning Center
located in Peterborough, Ontario. For
additional information, visit www.siemens.com/processinstrumentation.
Actiflo clarifiers to treat
process wastewater at
new plant in Vancouver
The Greater Vancouver Regional
District (GVRD) has selected John
Meunier to supply three clarifiers to
treat process wastewater from the
future Seymour-Capilano filtration
plant. The treated effluent (up to 9.6
million litres per day) will be discharged
into Burrard Inlet, in accordance
with the stringent requirements
of the discharge permit issued by
Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The Seymour-Capilano filtration
plant will be located in North Vancouver
and will draw water from the Seymour
and Capilano reservoirs. It will be completed
in 2007 and will supply drinking
water (up to 1.8 billion litres per day) to
homes, businesses and industries in the
Greater Vancouver area.
ZENON to supply world’s
largest membrane
bioreactor
ZENON Environmental Inc. has been
selected to supply King County in the
State of Washington with what it
claims is the largest membrane bioreactor
in the world. The ZeeWeed MBR
(membrane bioreactor) will treat an
average day flow of approximately
144,000 cubic metres of municipal
sewage per day, with peak flows up to
204,000 cubic metres, serving over
100,000 households. In addition, the
company received an order for a second
smaller plant, which results in a
total order value of $30 million.
Design of the greenfield plants is
currently underway, with construction
expected to begin in 2006 and completion
scheduled for 2010 for the larger
Brightwater plant and 2007 for the
smaller Carnation plant.
Stantec Consulting, with Earth Tech
Canada, has been chosen to participate
in the design and construction services
for the Ashbridges Bay Treatment
Plant odour control facilities’
upgrades. This capital project is estimated
at $150 million. Ashbridges
Bay TP, rated at 815 MLD, is currently
the largest secondary wastewater treatment
plant in Canada.
The overall objective is to provide
odour control measures to meet the
objective of less than one odour unit at
or beyond the plant’s property limit
and adjacent to the M and T sewage
pumping stations. As part of the project,
a major upgrade of the coarse bubble
aeration system and the grit and
screening facility in the D building
will be carried out.
Stantec and Earth Tech will be
researching a number of advanced
technologies for the aeration system
upgrade, including coarse and fine air
and moving bed technologies. The
project, which was initiated in January
2005, will be completed within a seven
to eight year window. Contact Mark
Jackson, (519) 585-7315.
Latimat wins contract to
clean Saturn V rocket
Latimat, Inc. has won a contract to
power wash, clean and contain for
proper disposal, the effluents of the
Saturn V Rocket. Work on the project
began in March 2005 and was expected
to last 3-4 weeks.
“We are thrilled to have been chosen
for this historic event. This museum
at Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas, will attract millions of
people from all over the world to view
the Saturn V Rocket. Having sat outside
in the elements for almost 30
years, the accumulation of airborne
contaminants adhered to the rocket
requires special cleaning to preserve
this artifact. Latimat will be utilized in
modules of various sizes in order to
contain the contaminants for proper
disposal by JSC.” said Douglas
Latimer, inventor.
The Latimat is a US and Foreign
patented portable wash pad device utilized
by the US Military, as well as
Home Depot tool rental stores.
New MBR plant installed at remote BC drilling camp
In August 2004, Sanitherm Engineering completed the installation of a 14
m3/d submerged Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) plant at Meager Creek
Hot Springs, which is a 20-25 minute helicopter ride from Pemberton,
BC. The plant treats all of the domestic wastewater from a geothermal
exploration facility drilling camp.
Design concerns with the project included:
Remote location with transportation difficulties – 5,000 ft elevation.
High-strength camp waste.
Very cold environment.
Limited maintenance availability.
Very strict effluent quality requirements.
Over the past two years, Sanitherm has supplied 30 MBR plants,
many of which were also in remote locations. Tests show that these MBR
plants produce effluent less than 5/5 mg/l BOD5/TSS, 5 mg/l NH3-N.
E-mail: jsmyth@sanitherm.com.
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