McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant

under construction

Opportunity Greater Victoria dumps an average of 82 million litres of raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca every day. In 2006 an environmental report commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment noted that the contamination of seabed sites near discharge points had unsafe levels of toxins such as copper, mercury and lead. As a result, the Capital Region District (CRD) was mandated by the B.C. Ministry of the Environment to plan for and initiate secondary treatment in the region. A secondary treatment plant is also necessary to meet the Federal Wastewater Effluent Regulations, which came into effect on January 1, 2015 and set mandatory minimum standards for wastewater quality. The treatment plant is being procured as part of the larger, $783 million Seaterra Program, which includes the Resource Recovery Centre, and is being jointly funded by the federal government ($120 million), the Province of British Columbia ($135 million) and the CRD ($109.7 million). Challenges The original McLoughlin Point site in Esquimalt was not approved by municipal council which has resulted in a drawn out procurement process but in September 2016 the Capital Region District Board approved recommendations made by the Core Area Wastewater Treatment Project Board which included a liquid treatment facility at the McLoughlin Point site in Esquimalt. The scope of the facility was reduced resulting in a reduction in P3 Canada funding which is distributed as a percentage of eligible project costs. Innovations The new facility includes innovative wastewater treatment options, including heat recovery for the plant and administrative buildings. Results The facility provides enhanced primary and secondary treatment of waste. The administrative buildings on site achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

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