Benefits of South End Water Pollution Control Centre (SEWPCC) upgrades
- Compliance with more stringent end-of-pipe discharge limits, terms and conditions contained in the Manitoba Environment Act Licence No. 2716R
Biological nutrient removal will provide the following benefits:
- Approximately 58% reduction of total annual phosphorus loading from about 81 tonnes per year to approximately 34 tonnes per year. These approximately 47 tonnes per year of phosphorus will end up in the residual treatment solids (sludge) and be hauled to the North End Water Pollution Control Centre for further treatment and processing.
- Approximately 41% reduction of total annual nitrogen loading from about 578 tonnes per year to approximately 340 tonnes per year
- These additional annual reductions from biological nutrient removal at the SEWPCC, the NEWPCC centrate 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 in the final effluent to levels well below any that could cause harmful effects to aquatic life
Last updated: April 11, 2024