How is wastewater treated in Nanaimo?
Wastewater from approximately 97,000 people in the City of Nanaimo, Snuneymuxw First Nation, and parts of Lantzville is treated at the Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre (GNPCC). Wastewater is gravity fed and pumped to GNPCC via three pump stations: Wellington Pump Station, Departure Bay Pump Station and Chase River Pump Station.
What makes Nanaimo’s water so special?
We are fortunate to have a high quality surface water supply. The water collected from rain and snowmelt at the headwaters of the South Fork of the Nanaimo River produce a high quality and good tasting product. Water quality is driven by the Drinking Water Protection Act and Regulation.
What happened to the Nanaimo River?
Significant progress was made when the City acquired water licenses for the Nanaimo River and built the South Fork Dam in 1930, setting a new benchmark for the public water utility. The concrete arch dam, which measures 50 metres across, stands 30 metres high and retains nearly 2 million cubic metres of water in South Fork Lake.
When was Nanaimo’s first water system built?
Nanaimo’s first public water system began just five years after the City was incorporated when, in 1879, the Vancouver Coal Company built the first wooden pipes to deliver water to the public from a spring on Wesley Street.
Does Nanaimo have a sewage treatment plant?
The Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre (GNPCC) is located at 4600 Hammond Bay Road in Nanaimo. It is the RDN's largest wastewater treatment facility and serves 100,000 people and businesses in the City of Nanaimo and District of Lantzville and on Snuneymuxw First Nations land.
Where does Nanaimo sewage go?
The sanitary sewer collection system discharges into a trunk sewer system that conveys the sewer to the Fairwinds Pollution Control Centre located on Schooner Cove Drive.
Does Vancouver dump sewage into the ocean?
With Greater Victoria's new $775 million sewage plant officially coming online last month, Tofino now carries the unfortunate distinction of being the only community on Vancouver Island to discharge raw sewage into the ocean. Tofino hopes that can change soon.
Where is the biggest wastewater treatment plant?
The Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Facility in Washington DC, USA, is the largest advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant of its kind in the world. It treats 330 million gallons of waste water every day.
Is there fluoride in Nanaimo water?
Please note: fluoride will NOT be added to the City's water. (Fluoride has never been added to the City of Nanaimo's drinking water.)
Where does Nanaimo get its water?
the Nanaimo RiverOur Water Source Our water begins with water that flows through mountain rivers, streams and creeks in the watershed of the South Fork of the Nanaimo River. Covering 230 square kilometres, an area three times the size of the City of Nanaimo, the watershed is located 20 kilometres south west of the City.
Does Victoria BC pump raw sewage into the ocean?
Victoria no longer flushes raw sewage into ocean after area opens treatment plant. The Greater Victoria area no longer uses surrounding ocean waters to flush away raw effluent now that a $775 million sewage plant has started treating the equivalent of 43 Olympic-sized pools of waste daily.
How does Vancouver treat its sewage?
In the Metro Vancouver area, everything that's flushed down our kitchen sinks, toilets and drains goes to one of five wastewater treatment plants. Four of these plants treat wastewater to a good level – to secondary treatment level – all but one.
Where does our poop go when we flush?
When you press the flush button, your wee, poo, toilet paper and water go down a pipe called a sewer. The toilet flushes the wastes down the sewer pipe. The sewer pipe from your house also collects and removes other wastes.
What country has the best sewer system?
Wastewater Treatment ResultsCountryCurrent RankBaseline ScoreMalta1100.00Netherlands399.90Luxembourg599.76Spain699.7193 more rows
How many wastewater treatment plants are there in Canada?
1,259 wastewater treatment facilitiesIn 2016, regional and municipal governments in Canada owned 1,259 wastewater treatment facilities, 1,244 lagoon systems, 6,104 wastewater pump stations, 4,762 wastewater lift stations, and 685 wastewater storage tanks, collectively referred to as non-linear wastewater assets.
Which is the biggest water plant in the world?
The James W. Jardine Plant in Chicago is the largest water treatment plant in the world. Here are some fascinating facts about it: Chicagoans use nearly 1 billion gallons of water a day – enough to fill the Sears Tower two and half times.
Drinking Water Regulations
New drinking water regulations implemented by Island Health adjusted the City’s Operating Permit to require filtration of the drinking water supply (also known as 4-3-2-1 Treatment Policy).
How is our water treated?
The new plant treats raw (untreated) water using the following process:
The treatment process
The backbone of the water treatment plant process is a series of membrane filtration units – General Electric Water's Zeeweed 1,000 and 500 ultra-filtration membranes. These products were developed in Canada and are robust to handle variations in the City's water.
How fine are the membrane filters?
The size of the openings in the membranes are 0.1 micrometres, and this compares favourably to the size of various impurities (3-15 micrometres) that will be stopped from passing through, leaving pure, filtered water.
What is the Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre?
Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre (GNPCC) treats wastewater from approximately 100,000 people in the City of Nanaimo, Snuneymuxw First Nation land, and the District of Lantzville. GNPCC also treats septage from residential onsite (septic) systems and wastewater from pump-and-haul properties. View a map of the service area.
What are the three pumps used in GNPCC?
GNPCC uses three pump stations: Wellington Pump Station, Departure Bay Pump Station and Chase River Pump Station.
What is GNPCC treatment?
The GNPCC provides primary and secondary treatment and removes more than 90% of the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS), two of the main methods used to measure wastewater quality. Learn more about how treatment works and the different levels of wastewater treatment.
Water Quality Reports
The Province of British Columbia issues water licenses to the City under the Water Act. Our drinking water dams and the use of the water for public consumption and fisheries augmentation are clearly spelled out by the licenses we hold.
Water Quality Testing
The Province of British Columbia issues water licenses to the City under the Water Act. Our drinking water dams and the use of the water for public consumption and fisheries augmentation are clearly spelled out by the licenses we hold.
What was the impact of Victoria's sewage discharge?
Victoria's discharge of raw sewage had been a political irritant between the two jurisdictions including threats of a tourism boycott in the 1990s by groups in Washington state. The state pledged to support Vancouver's bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics in exchange for B.C.'s promise to treat Victoria's sewage.
What did Inslee call the treatment plant?
Inslee called the treatment plant a “remarkable achievement, ” saying he was wondering why the water near his home “looks so clean.”. Victoria's discharge of raw sewage had been a political irritant between the two jurisdictions including threats of a tourism boycott in the 1990s by groups in Washington state.
