Dillon and Maple/Maxim Joint Venture completed the design, project administration, construction supervision and commissioning of the new facility under a design-build delivery model. The $64M Eastern Passage Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) provides for projected community growth, as well as an upgraded treatment system consistent with industry standards.
The original WWTF was designed and built in 1974, serving about 18,000 people and provided a secondary level of treatment in Halifax Harbour. In 1986, the facility was expanded in terms of capacity but the level of treatment was downgraded from secondary to primary, as it was then anticipated that the facility would be decommissioned. By 2011, the facility was treating sewage for ~38,000 people. Upgrades were designed to accommodate an additional 12,000 people over the 25 year life span of the facility.
The expansion and upgrades included:
- New headworks building with fine screens and vortex grit removal
- New primary clarifiers
- New conventional activated sludge system consisting of aeration tanks and secondary clarifiers
- Ultraviolet disinfection
- Sludge management facility including drum thickening, sludge storage, and dewatering using centrifuges
- Three-stage odour control system to treat room air and air from covered channels/tanks and equipment. The system consists of bio-trickling filter, biofilter and carbon filter.
The facility opened in September 2014.