In 2015, TransAqua / Greater Moncton Wastewater Commission is looking forward to confirming sources of funding from plant expansion plans and consolidating upon recent organizational structural changes and capital additions.
Throughout 2014, TransAqua worked with its engineering consultant, CBCL, to produce a preliminary design for its proposed solution to the new Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) effluent regulations – a biological nutrient removal (BNR) plant. These plans have allowed TransAqua to begin working on a business case to apply funding under the federal government’s public-private partnership funding program, PPP Canada, as one particular avenue to source these required funds.
TransAqua has continued to lobby all levels of government – municipal, provincial and federal – for their support and gauge their level of commitment to funding the anticipated $75-million upgrade project.
Operationally, TransAqua has completed construction of a third composting pad to allow its Delong Drive site to accept and process the larger volumes of compostable biosolids expected under the proposed BNR wastewater treatment process.
The organization has also installed a pilot heat-recovery plant into one of its clarifiers to allow heat from wastewater to be captured and used throughout the plant to offset electrical heating costs and continue the drive toward operational efficiency in an environmental responsible manner.
In 2014, the Commission changed its legal name by adding “Wastewater,” which is in line with its focus on the end product of its processes, treated wastewater and compostable biosolids, and the launch of its new brand and corporate name, TransAqua.
The October open house saw more than 200 members of the public tour both the Riverview wastewater facility and Moncton compost facility. Residents had an opportunity to talk to TransAqua staff and Commissioners about the current operation and plans for the future.
Late in 2014, TransAqua commissioned RV Anderson to begin work on a combined sewer overflow (CSO) strategy to outline how the organization should deal with storm water from rain and snow melt events entering the sewerage system and overloading it, in line with federal requirements to have such a strategy in place for 2016. This strategy will help guide TransAqua through the next decade as it deals with this issue.
TransAqua / Greater Moncton Wastewater Commission (www.transaqua.ca) was established in 1983 to support the wastewater collection and treatment needs of the Dieppe, Moncton and Riverview tri-community. Since then, it has developed a 32-kilometre collection network and a treatment facility to best deliver on this mandate. It has also become a leader in the reuse of biosolids through the generation of type ‘AA’ compost (the highest grade currently achieved in Canada) as opposed to disposal in a landfill site. The organization is now positioning itself to further upgrade its facilities to provide an enhanced secondary treatment approach that will allow it to meet recently introduced mandatory federal regulations prior to the 2020 deadline.
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Media contact:
Chanel Michaud
Treasurer
TransAqua / Greater Moncton Wastewater Commission
(506) 381-9364