Awards
2009 summit award® recipients
the project achievement award
Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant – Calgary
This award is presented to a project demonstrating engineering, geological or geophysical skills and representing a substantial contribution to technical progress and the betterment of society. The Association will give credit to those firms and/or persons assuming key roles in bringing the project to completion.
Significant growth within the City of Calgary has generated increased pressures on the City’s infrastructure including the need to provide new, advanced wastewater treatment capacity. In response to this challenge, the City selected CH2M HILL to provide project management, engineering, architectural and commissioning services for the Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, a green field wastewater treatment facility.
The Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, located in southeast Calgary, is designed to accommodate the City's immediate and long-term needs in an efficient, economic and environmentally responsible manner. The result is a next-generation wastewater treatment facility that incorporates advanced technology and provides the highest quality of treated effluent among all major cities in Western Canada. The Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant protects the integrity of the Bow River, an important habitat for fish and wildlife and one of the Province’s vital water resources.
The CH2M HILL team considered the facility holistically, integrating lessons learned from the more than 100 similar plants they had worked on around the globe. The Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant uses a biological nutrient removal process that does not rely on chemicals. This technique reduces the volume of solids produced and increases the nutrient value of the biosolids that are generated. It has the largest tertiary filtration facility of its kind in the world, adopted after performing a careful pilot evaluation to address performance and risks associated with advancing the development of this technology to such a large-scale installation.
The Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant employs industry best practices, such as water reclamation and reuse within the plant and at nearby developments. This will help the City achieve its long-term water efficiency goal to reduce potable water consumption for non-potable needs. Mitigating plant odours was a major consideration in the design. The project team conducted an extensive monitoring program at Calgary's existing wastewater treatment plants to characterize potential sources and to develop the best strategy for odour control. Dispersion modelling was conducted on several off-gas containment and treatment scenarios and used to select the most appropriate, cost-effective option to achieve the City's goal of zero odour complaints. The project will also incorporate research facilities in collaboration with the University of Calgary, advancing society's knowledge of wastewater technologies as well as impacts on public health and the environment. Along with its practical applications, the Pine Creek Research Centre will serve as a facility for operator training and prototype testing.