ACCIONA to build new cad$525 million waste water treatment plant in Vancouver

ACCIONA, a global infrastructure and renewable energy group, has been awarded a CAD$525 million contract by Metro Vancouver to design, build and commission a new waste water treatment plant for the Vancouver region in British Columbia.

New wastewater management regulations in Canada require all primary treatment plants in urban areas to upgrade to secondary treatment by 2020. The new regulations affect about one out of every four wastewater treatment systems across the country. Secondary treatment uses biological processes to remove dissolved and suspended organic compounds, resulting in much cleaner effluent and reduce environmental impact.

To meet the new regulations, Metro Vancouver, a federation of 21 municipalities, one Electoral Area and one Treaty First Nation that delivers regional-scale services such as water and wastewater treatment, decided to build a new WWTP to replace the existing Lions Gate WWTP that has provided primary treatment for the greater Vancouver region for more than 50 years. 

ACCIONA, which has more than 300 WWTP projects in construction or operation in more than 25 countries, won the tender to design, build and commission the new Lions Gate Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant.

This will be ACCIONA’s second major water treatment project in Canada, after it was awarded a contract to upgrade the water distribution system and build a new drinking water plant at Saint John, New Brunswick, early last year.
ACCIONA is also active in other areas of green infrastructure in Canada, including the construction of the Site C dam in British Columbia and in the development and operation renewable energy facilities such as windfarms.

The new WWTP, located some 2km from the existing facility, will be capable of treating 102 million liters/day under normal conditions and up to 320 million liters/day when storm water enters the drainage system in wet weather. The chosen technologies for the plant are currently used in other Metro Vancouver facilities and include: primary treatment using lamella plates, deep tank activated sludge and thermophilic digestion. 

The new plant will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards on a very compact site. Much of it will be buried underground. Its design incorporates energy efficiency and recovery solutions, water conservation and reuse, on-site storm water management and measures to minimize waste generation. The biogas generated from the treatment of the waste water will be used to generate electricity to run the plant and heat the facility.

The Lions Gate Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant will be integrated intothe community with spaces for community activities, educational opportunities, and meeting spaces. The existing primary treatment WWTP will be decommissioned and the lands returned to Squamish Nation. 

The federal government will contribute $212 million towards the funding of the new plant via the Green Infrastructure Fund – Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and Climate Resilient Infrastructure.