In December 2020, the Capital Regional District announced that it is providing tertiary treatment for wastewater from the core area municipalities of Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, View Royal, Langford and Colwood, and the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.
Bringing wastewater treatment to the CRD’s core area was a complex undertaking which went through a number of changes before the current system was put in place.
Before 2020, all wastewater from the Core Area was screened before being discharged into the marine environment from one of two outfalls, located at Clover Point and Macaulay Point. No other treatment occurred, and it made the Capital Regional District (CRD) the last major coastal community in North America to discharge untreated sewage into the marine environment.
2012-2015
In 2012, new federal and provincial regulations were put in place which required a minimum of secondary treatment for wastewater by December 31, 2020.
The CRD formed the Seaterra Commission in 2013 to oversee the design and construction of the core area’s wastewater treatment program.
In April 2014, the rezoning application for McLoughlin Point did not meet the zoning requirements for Esquimalt. The Seaterra Commission was put on hold while further consultation was conducted, and other wastewater treatment options were considered.
2016-2020
The Core Area Wastewater Treatment Project Board was established by the CRD in May 2016, tasked with reviewing wastewater treatment issues and providing recommended solutions. To meet the federal regulations for treatment by December 31, 2020, the Project schedule was ambitious. It needed to plan, procure, construct and commission the largest capital project undertaken to date by the CRD within five years.
The Project Board reviewed the previous technical work and extensive public commentary and developed a methodology to review and evaluate wastewater treatment options. This work included developing detailed cost estimates for short-listed options then ranking each option using triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental) criteria.
The CRD Board approved the recommended option and business case, the basis of what has become the Core Area Wastewater Treatment System, in September 2016.
The Project made the important transition from the planning phase to the construction phase, with a contract awarded to Harbour Resource Partners in April 2017. Construction began with blasting and excavation at McLoughlin Point and drilling of the harbour crossing at Ogden Point.
By 2018, construction was well underway on all major components, including the McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Residuals Treatment Facility, the Clover Point Pump Station, the Clover Forcemain, the Macaulay Point Pump Station and Forcemain, and the Residual Solids Conveyance Line.
Over 35 km of pipes were installed to carry wastewater from across the core area to the McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, and residual solids to the Residuals Treatment Facility at Hartland Landfill.
The height of construction on the Wastewater Treatment Project took place in 2019 with work happening across three municipalities: Esquimalt, Victoria and Saanich.
Over 2.5 million hours were worked on the Wastewater Treatment Project, by eleven major contractors. At the peak of construction, there were over 650 people working at 24 different construction sites.
In 2020, the majority of construction was completed and the Project achieved its goal of treating the Core Area’s wastewater by December 31, 2020.
