I have visited a number of water treatment and wastewater treatment plants at these towns and the main thing that has struck me is that apart from the cold climate in Alberta and the varying water quality during snow melt, many of the issues faced by operators and engineers in Alberta are very similar to those at home in Australia.
At Fairview, it was easy to see the challenges of commissioning upgrades to an operational water treatment plant whilst continuing to meet Alberta Environment requirements. In Grande Cache, the views were so good, even the wastewater plant had a scenic view!
In Drayton Valley I saw some upgrades being undertaken to the wastewater plant to commence reusing the treated effluent for use in the mining industry for fraccing.
During my stay in Spruce Grove, my host Neil Hollands from Alberta Environment took me in to Edmonton's utility EPCOR, where I inspected their water plant and wastewater plants, as well as met with their engineers and managers in regards to capital works programming, environmental management systems and watershed management. In particular, the wastewater plant was very advanced, having biological nutrient removal, submerged membrane filtration for recycling, and a lab scale BNR plant for testing new advanced treatment methods. All this was being done whilst being connected to a combined storm water/sewer network. My only regret from my Edmonton trip was that I wasn't allowed to take photos!
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