For nearly a year, the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant has been a beehive of exercise as tons of of orange- and yellow-clad employees have been establishing new buildings and putting in fashionable expertise.

Watching all of the exercise has been Ryan Johnson, president/CEO of the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation. He has been concerned with the challenge in some capability because the starting, together with in the course of the years-long pre-planning phases.

Clad in a yellow vest and blue helmet, Johnson graciously gave the Moose Jaw Express a tour of the increasing venue and mentioned the adjustments with a educated command of what was taking place.

“I’m enjoying it (the project). It’s a lot of work, but it’s going well … ,” he stated. “It’s thrilling. It’s a profession spotlight. It’s crucial factor I’ve ever finished. I’m simply the challenge cheerleader … . (Staff) are doing the exhausting work.”

New development

Only three new buildings are being constructed in the course of the plant renewal challenge, together with a brand new administration centre. This is the place places of work, laboratories and upkeep outlets will probably be below one roof as an alternative of “scattered all over the place.” 

Work crews will demolish the previous admin constructing however will use the basement for storage and as a warehouse. 

Contractors are constructing two new summer season lagoons, the place processed wastewater will probably be saved. The pits will retain the water longer so natural supplies can settle to the underside whereas the clear water will rise to the highest. The plant can then pipe that water again to the lake.

The plant can have six lagoons however solely wants 5 to perform. Yet, the company should nonetheless yearly “de-sludge” the pits by eradicating all natural materials and delivery it to the Moose Jaw landfill. 

Johnson famous that the plant had spent roughly $1 million to ship about 12,500 tonnes of sludge to the dump, based mostly on prices of $80 per tonne.

Cleaning brokers

Another new constructing will maintain chemical compounds resembling chlorine. That construction will probably be on the positioning’s south aspect and never in the course of the complicated. Johnson was grateful for this transformation because it meant employees wouldn’t be uncovered to chlorine gasoline if a leak occurred.

For the previous 38 years, the present chemical constructing has been regenerating carbon for the granular-activated carbon (GAC) filters. But with the conversion to biologically activated carbon filters, there isn’t any extra want for the construction.

“If we did nothing, we’d have to spend $10 million to upgrade (the chem building anyway),” stated Johnson. “There’s no point in piece-mealing it; we ran it good.”

Moving contained in the plant, Johnson’s huge information of the prevailing gear and the brand new gear was on show. 

“I love this stuff,” he stated with a smile.

Important expertise

Perhaps the largest— and most necessary — technological change is the addition of 5 new dissolved air floatation (DAF) items with room for a sixth unit. This new expertise will assist the plant produce 250 megalitres (250 million litres) per day, presumably rising to 350 mL/day “if unexpected growth in the area” happens.

The DAF tanks home air saturators that inject billions of bubbles into the water — seven microbubbles per particle — and create a microscopic fizzing and popping just like opening a gentle drink — however on an industrial scale that may clear hundreds of thousands of litres of water, defined Johnson. 

The water initially seems “like a really muddy milkshake” due to all of the clay, algae and different supplies, however because the air bubbles work, that brown water turns white. 

The tanks are 20 ft deep and the bubbles burst out of the pipes like a strain sprayer — however with tons of of nozzles as an alternative of 1.

While one DAF unit was working in the course of the tour, Johnson was excited that specialists — together with internationally famend water course of “guru” Dave Pernitsky — can be on web site in early June to check the system. Barring any issues, the three specialists might give the go-ahead for the items to start out working.  

“The plant has never run at 200 megalitres before. I’ll be retired before it hits 250 megalitres,” chuckled Johnson, noting solely three items can be required to function most summers. 

An extended life

Another new constructing is the ozone constructing and load-lift pumps. This expertise will assist take care of the style and odour of the water. Currently, a large yellow crane sits in a pit surrounded by hundreds of rebar poles.

“It’s an incredible amount of steel,” Johnson stated. “There will be a lot of tanks and vessels (inside the new building). The walls can be punched out if they need to expand it in the future.”

The plant will seemingly exist for one more 100 years, nevertheless it must be refreshed each 25 years, he continued. The concrete from the unique 1955 plant and subsequent expansions remains to be good, however the expertise retains bettering.

“There’s no reason they can’t keep adding capacity in one direction and process (equipment) in another direction,” he stated, including, “I want to leave the plant in good hands for the next 25 years.”