Benefits of North End Water Pollution Control Centre (NEWPCC) upgrades
- Compliance with more stringent end-of-pipe discharge limits, terms and conditions contained in the Manitoba Environment Act Licence No. 2684RRR
Effluent disinfection will provide the following benefits:
- Reduce fecal coliform levels ranging from 50,000 to 250,000 per 100mL in the wastewater treatment plant effluent to a monthly average of 200 per 100mL (or less) on a year-round basis
- Reduced risk of contracting gastrointestinal illness for people using the river for recreation
- Ultraviolet technologies, which do not require the use of chemicals, eliminate the risk of a chemical spill and improve health and safety conditions for both plant operators and the public
Centrate nutrient removal will provide the following benefits:
- Approximately 10% reduction of total annual phosphorus loading from about 290 tonnes per year to approximately 260 tonnes per year
- Approximately 12% reduction of total annual nitrogen loading from about 2420 tonnes per year to approximately 2130 tonnes per year
- These additional annual reductions from the NEWPCC centrate, biological nutrient removal at the SEWPCC and the WEWPCC effluent will achieve the interim reduction targets of 10% for phosphorus loading and 13% for nitrogen loading from Winnipeg's current situation, consistent with those established in the Lake Winnipeg Action Plan to return Lake Winnipeg to pre-1970 levels
- Potentially result in improved water quality and reduced algae blooms in Lake Winnipeg
- Protection of aquatic life from the potentially harmful effects of un-ionized ammonia. The biological nutrient removal process converts ammonia to nitrite/nitrate through the nitrification process and then from nitrite/nitrate to nitrogen gas in the denitrification process. These conversion processes significantly reduce the ammonia concentration from the centrate to levels well below any that could cause harmful effects to aquatic life
Last updated: April 11, 2024