Boat Harbour Remediation Project

Over 50 years ago, a pulp mill was built near the Northumberland Strait. Boat Harbour was dammed and became the receiving point of pulp mill effluent, resulting in the deposition of contaminated sludge.

Location

Nova Scotia, Canada

At the time, Boat Harbour (A'se'k in the Mi’kmaq language) was an integral part of the Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN) resource base and lifestyle. Following the change of Boat Harbour into an effluent discharge point, PLFN members were deprived of the use of hundreds of acres of land and use of the estuary. They were also misled about the impacts that dumping mill waste would have on their traditional hunting and fishing grounds. To make matters worse, a pipeline ruptured in 2014, releasing millions of litres of effluent into the water.

The Boat Harbour Remediation Project stems from a decision in 2015 by Nova Scotia Government to develop a plan for the removal of contaminated sediment and for the reconversion of the freshwater lake into a saltwater estuary.

Approximate quantity of contaminated sludge to be removed and permanently stored in containment cells

1 million m³

WSP, as part of a GHD-led team, contributed to the design plan to dredge, decontaminate and store the sediment and for developing the infrastructure to do so. WSP also led efforts to refine the estimates of contaminated material using innovative in-situ sludge thickness measurements. In addition, close to 6 million cubic metres of water will have to be treated during the remediation process. The planning will also have to factor in future sea level changes and storm surges once the harbour is reopened to the Northumberland Strait.

WSP's team, which included collaboration with members of Pictou Landing First Nations, has expertise in the areas of environmental protection, geomatics, infrastructure and structural/geotechnical engineering. The full clean-up is scheduled to start in 2022. Thanks to its multidisciplinary contributions, WSP will be collectively helping to right a historic wrong.

Sustainable Development Goal 6 - Clean water and sanitation