Barrie’s wastewater treatment facility (WwTF) is getting a $261-million retrofit during the next eight years to meet new provincial requirements for phosphorus reduction in order to handle population growth and to upgrade treatment systems at end-of-life.
“The WwTF is the oldest asset in the city. There are many projects required at the WwTF,” said Sherry Diement, Barrie’s director of infrastructure. “There will be new buildings built at the WwTF. All the project structures will be built within the wastewater treatment facility property.”
This work, at 249 Bradford St., was identified in the 2019 wastewater treatment master plan. Actual construction is scheduled to begin in 2024, and be completed in 2030. It includes upgrading or replacing electrical substation infrastructure to service future needs and converting the high purity oxygen biological system to a conventional fine bubble aeration system.
Then there’s implementing membrane bio reactor (MBR) treatment to meet the stringent phosphorus requirements for the existing plant with consideration to service population growth to 2041.
The current WwTF is operating at an average flow of 50 mega litres per day (MLD) and servicing a population of 155,636. The upgrade project is required to service this population with consideration for additional growth beyond 2041 and to increase plant capacity to 96 MLD. Barrie’s new Official Plan is planning for a population that will have reached 298,000 by 2051.
The upgrades also include new flow facilities to address the peak flows at the plant and the construction of a fourth digester to increase solids handling capacity.
The phosphorus reduction strategy is a key part of the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. While phosphorus helps plants in the lake grow, having too much of it leads to excessive plant growth and a depletion of oxygen levels the fish need to thrive. The strategy to reduce phosphorus levels in Lake Simcoe by almost 40 per cent will help improve water quality and protect the coldwater fish population.
Phosphorous levels are a key water quality concern in Lake Simcoe. The Ontario government approved the Lake Simcoe phosphorus reduction strategy in 2010, which established reductions in phosphorous loading to restore Lake Simcoe's water quality and ecological health. All wastewater treatment plants on Lake Simcoe will be required to be upgraded to meet these new requirements.
The new limit requires the Barrie WwTF to maintain existing loading of total phosphorous as flows to the Barrie WwTF increase with future development in the secondary plan, the former Innisfil, areas and intensification of the built boundary.
While the $261-million cost of this project is significant, even spread over eight years, the city has a way to pay for it.
Of that total, 38 per cent will come from debenture proceeds from development charges, 35 per cent will be from the wastewater capital reserve and 27 per cent from the wastewater services facilities reserve.
The uncommitted balance in the wastewater capital reserve, for example, is more than $55 million, says city treasurer Craig Millar.
Wastewater assets owned and operated by the city include the WwTF, Oro-Medonte biosolids storage facility (BSF), 13 pumping stations and approximately 550 kilometres of sewers and maintenance holes, which together total almost $1.4 billion in replacement value.
These assets, and the staff and processes that support them, are essential to protecting public health and the environment, in particular the health of Lake Simcoe.
The Barrie WwTF is the most valuable of the city’s vertical wastewater assets at approximately $800 million. Other vertical assets include the BSF, valued at approximately $119 million, and pumping stations worth about $30 million. Sewers and maintenance holes make up the remaining $405 million in assets.
The wastewater system is anticipated to grow substantially during the next 10 years, including the addition of about 12 kilometres of sewers, two pumping stations, and upgrades to the WwTF, not including assets assumed from new developments.
Most of the city’s wastewater collection infrastructure has more than half of its service life remaining. This is expected, as much of it was constructed during the rapid growth that occurred from the 1990s through the 2000s. More than 60 per cent of the city’s sewers and maintenance holes were installed in the last 30 years.
The WwTF is the city’s oldest wastewater asset and its current components vary widely in age. Many component assets of the WwTF have exceeded their theoretical service lives and are likely to require replacement in the near future.
Which is why the city is in the process of upgrading and expanding the WwTF; many of the aging and deteriorated components will be addressed through the planned improvements, however staff will need to continue to monitor the remaining assets and prioritize renewals as appropriate.
The condition of the city’s wastewater assets was considered as part of an asset management project. Condition ratings are based on data from visual inspections where available and based on age where inspections have not been completed.
Sewer condition was assessed based on data collected through the city’s annual sewer inspection program. The wastewater collection system is in very good condition on average, with 99 per cent of sewers in fair to very good condition.
Inspections were completed on some components of the WwTF as part of the project and the condition of the remaining plant components was estimated based on age. The plant is currently considered to be in good condition on average, although approximately $130 million in component assets are at or near the end of their service lives and are expected to require renewal in the near future.
An estimated $92 million worth of these aging assets at the WwTF will be replaced or renewed as part of the planned upgrades at the plant during the next 10 years. The remaining $38 million in assets will continue to be monitored and prioritized for inclusion in the capital plan as appropriate.
The condition of most of the BSF was estimated based on age, with the exception of some components which underwent inspections as part of this project. The average condition of the BSF is good overall, however some rehabilitation work was recommended and is included in the capital plan.
Twelve sewage pumping stations were inspected as part of this project, excluding only the Holly pumping station which was recently reconstructed. On average, the pumping stations are in good condition, however some rehabilitation work is recommended; some of this is in the current capital plan and the remaining work will be reviewed and considered in upcoming capital planning exercises.
In general, the physical condition of Barrie’s wastewater infrastructure is good, with 99 per cent of the assets in the collection system, and 86 per cent of vertical facilities, in fair to very good condition. This is to be expected since most of the city’s wastewater assets are relatively early in their estimated service lives.
The city wastewater asset management plan considers asset risk by comparing the probability of failure, which is estimated based on asset age and condition, to the consequence of that asset failing, which is based on size, replacement value, function and location.
Based on this analysis approximately nine per cent, or $119 million worth, of the city’s wastewater assets are currently considered to be in the ‘high’ risk category. Some of these high-risk assets are included in the capital plan and the remainder will be monitored and prioritized for inclusion as appropriate.
None of the wastewater assets are currently considered ‘very high’ risk.
