Powered by our passion to build more resilient water infrastructure that meets current and future demands, we pursued sustainable and affordable solutions to design: a new 75,000-cubic-meter per day surface water treatment plant; 33,000 cubic meters of new storage reservoirs; and, a 18,000-cubic-meter per day groundwater wellfield.
To further overhaul crucial aging assets, our team designed improvements to the water transmission system, several pumping stations and 16 km of water pipes that were replaced.
A critical part of the design included ensuring the facility had minimal impact on the environment. The water treatment process uses chemicals which can pose environmental risks. Chemical containment is required in the event of accidental spills during chemical delivery. So, we pioneered the design of a chemical containment area and associated drain collection structure with a unique three-way valve system to ensure the containment of any chemical spill during bulk chemical offloading.
Our team also eliminated the use of settling ponds for the storage and dewater of solids removed from the treatment process. This protected five hectares of trees on the property and provided an essential buffer between the facility and the nearby Little River Reservoir. This helped minimise the environmental footprint of the plant’s operations.
Meeting both Canadian and New Brunswick water quality standards, the Loch Lomond Drinking Water Treatment Facility officially opened in 2019. In the first few months following commissioning, the facility removed 15 tonnes of organic matter from Saint John’s drinking water. The removal of solid material improves the health of the entire water system and ensures a reliable supply of clean, safe water is delivered not only to the current community today, but also the generations to come.
Note: This work was initiated under Wood’s E&I, who joined WSP in an acquisition completed in 2022.