Niagara Falls Waste Water Treatment Plant Flocculation, Grit and Primary Tank Gate Upgrade

completed

The project includes: • Installation of the pre-purchased gates valves for the flocculation and grit tanks • Purchase and installation of eighteen (18) new gate valves for the primary tanks. The project is incremental in nature in that the project had been removed from our 2017 capital budget due to insufficient regional funding required to proceed with the construction phase. The Clean Water and Wastewater Fund will allow us to proceed with a key infrastructure project. The Niagara Falls Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) treats sewage from approximately 127,410 people, and supports the demand of over 30 million tourists. This Class 4 WWTP was built in 1964 and the Flocculation, Grit and Primary Tank system are original to the plant. Niagara Falls WWTP has operational limitations in the secondary treatment process. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is aware of this challenge and is strongly encouraging the Region to correct this operational issue. This is a result of significant sulphide loading from the primary tanks to the rotating biological contactors. High levels of hydrogen sulphide are a result of the inability to adequately control retention times in the grit, flocculation and primary tanks. All existing slide gate valves in these tanks have reached the end of their service life (valves in primary tanks 1, 2 and 3 are original 1964). With new valves installed staff will be able to optimize the retention time and effluent flows from the grit, flocculation and primary tanks which will aid in meeting the effluent regulations for toxicity/ nitrification. Replacement costs are based on information from two slide gate valve supply firms which are listed on the Regions Approved Product Equipment List (APEL). Typical mechanical equipment installation costs are 150% of equipment purchase costs.