Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant 

The Gold Bar wastewater treatment facility was transferred from the City of Edmonton to EPCOR on April 1, 2009. EPCOR owns the Gold Bar wastewater treatment plant and the membrane filtration facility. EPCOR also owns the mains specifically used to transport treated wastewater sludge (biosolids) to and from the Clover Bar lagoons located at the City's Clover Bar waste management site. The City of Edmonton retains ownership and management of the wastewater collection system including sanitary and storm mains, pump stations, manholes, storm water ponds, and the Clover Bar lagoons.

 
Located on 19.5 hectares, of land in the North Saskatchewan River Valley, the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant handles wastewater requirements for 750,000 people in the greater Edmonton area. Current treatment capacity is 310 million litres per day. In one year, the treatment volume at the plant is roughly 100,000 million litres - enough to fill 37,000 Olympic-length swimming pools (about 100 a day).

Innovation and Expertise
Through constant upgrades and innovations, Gold Bar remains at the forefront of wastewater technology. The scientific processes, technologies and equipment that are described in detail below provide a comprehensive look at one of the most innovative wastewater treatment facilities in North America. Gold Bar is also the host site of the Waste Management Centre of Excellence, a research facility.

Gold Bar at a glance

• Opened in 1956 - originally designed for 250,000 people. At that time, it was Canada's most advanced sewage treatment facility, a secondary 'activated sludge' plant.
• Located - on 19.5 hectares (48.2 acres) on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River at 50 Street in Edmonton.
• Facility Classification - Class IV facility. ISO 14001- certified. Member of Strathcona Industrial Association (SIA).
• Customers & Population Served - Today Gold Bar handles wastewater needs of over 750,000 in Edmonton and south capital region. Supplies high-grade process water to Petro-Canada's Edmonton Refinery in Strathcona County from country's largest membrane treatment facility, up to 15 million litres per day.
• Wastewater 'Swap' Agreement - Gold Bar accepts wastewater from Leduc, Beaumont, Nisku and International Airport in exchange for wastewater from the city's northeast communities being handled by the Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission (ACRWC). The ACRWC facility treats wastewater from most communities in the Edmonton Capital Region area.
• Sewer System - 15% of Edmonton's developed area has a combined (sanitary & storm water) sewer system. For Gold Bar this means variable flow conditions, often with sharp fluctuations in wet weather months.
• % of Flow Contributed By Source - 55% residential; 30% industrial/commercial/institutional; 15% combined sewers and infiltration.

Plant Capacities - Liquid & Solid

• Current Design Capacity: 310 million litres per day.
• Peak Primary Treatment Capacity: 910 million litres per day.
• Peak Secondary/Tertiary Treatment Capacity: 420 million litres per day. (10 operating bioreactors of 42 million litres per day; 1 back-up bioreactor for redundancy.)
• Headworks (grit removal & screening) Capacity: 1600 million litres per day
• Digester Capacity: 47.5 million litres combined capacity from six digesters. Two new ones being constructed in 2009.

Actual Treated Flows (2008)

• Average Daily Flow: 260 million litres per day
• Highest Peak Daily Flow (2007): 747.10million litres (May 5/07).
• Total Annual Flow: 94,325 million litres
• Highest Recorded Annual Flow: 102,145 (in 1991). Variability is due to effects of annual precipitation and combined sewer system.
• Biosolids Treated & Transferred to Clover Bar Lagoons (2007) - 21,092 dry tonnnes (dt).
• Biosolids Disposed (2007) - 19,318 dry tonnes - 10,720 dry tonnes by land application and 8,598 dry tonnes by composter
• Treatment Duration - 18 hours average from start to finish for full tertiary treatment; formerly 12 hours when a secondary treatment facility.

Expansions & Upgrades

• Plant Expansions: two processing capacity increases, a decade apart, with the last in 1981.The site has room, if needed and if the same configuration is followed, for three more bioreactors/clarifiers or up to 126 million litres per day.
• Treatment Upgraded - Improved Effluent Quality -tertiary treatment upgrade began in 1995; completed in December 2001, three years ahead of mandated deadline from province.
• Tertiary Treatment Description - disinfection of final effluent and nutrient (phosphorus & ammonia) removal. Accomplished without chemical addition by high-intensity UV light and Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) respectively. Facilities to support the BNR upgrade component include fermenters; sludge blend tanks; Waste Activate Sludge (WAS) thickeners; two new bioreactors/clarifiers; new 3500 horse power blower.