North End Wastewater Treatment Plant (NEWPCC) upgrades

Video shared with permission by AECOM. This is a video made with a drone flying over the Winnipeg North End Wastewater Treatment Plant. It starts by showing a wide view of the plant, including many buildings and a large work area. The work area is the site of Project 1: Power Supply & Headworks. This is the first of three upgrade projects at the Plant. The drone then moves in for a closer look and flies over a grassy field with trees. It then flies back to the work area, where there is a large crane and two round chambers. The drone continues to fly, showing the whole plant from a new angle and pointing out round tanks, tall odour control stacks, and rectangular buildings that are part of the existing treatment process. After that, it moves past the plant towards a big empty field. This field will be the future site of Project 2: Biosolids Upgrade and Project 3: Nutrient Removal. Finally, the drone flies high above the field, showing the whole area, including some roads and houses in the distance.

The upgrades to the North End Wastewater Treatment Plant (also known as the North End Water Pollution Control Centre or NEWPCC) are some of the largest and most complex infrastructure investments in North America. These investments will help us:

• Meet our Environment Act Licence requirements
• Ensure long-term environmental sustainability
• Meet the wastewater treatment needs of a growing city

The NEWPCC upgrades include improvements to:

• Treatment processes that reduce the amount of nutrients we release into our waterways
• Wet weather flow treatment technology
• Biosolids processing facilities that will increase nutrient reuse and recovery

We will complete the NEWPCC upgrades as three projects:

1. Project 1: Power Supply & Headworks Facilities (scheduled completion in 2026)
2. Project 2: Biosolids Upgrade (scheduled completion in 2030)
3. Project 3: Nutrient Removal Facilities (scheduled completion in 2032)

Project 1 funding also includes some support projects.

Project 1: Power Supply & Headworks Facilities

Power Supply:

We completed a new power substation for the plant in 2020. This substation will supply enough electricity to power the upgraded plant.

Headworks Facilities:

Video shared with permission by Red River Solutions - An AECON Oscar Renda General Partnership. This video is a fast-motion look at building the Headworks Facilities project. It starts with views from the roof of the Headworks Facilities building and a deep chamber under construction. As the video goes on, you see an exterior view of the Headworks Facilities building surrounded by cranes and a large white stack being erected. There is an overhead view of a round deep chamber. This chamber is part of the Raw Sewage Pumping Station. In this view, it shows concrete structures and piping installed inside the chamber. Formwork is shown being moved using a crane. An exterior view of the Headworks Facilities building is shown. In this view, we see steel framework for an upper level being constructed and the concrete panels that make-up the exterior walls. There is an interior view of the Main Control Building showing large windows and a mobile crane working outside of the building. There is another view from above looking down towards a round deep chamber. In this view, we see a building under construction beside the chamber and walls for a second smaller building beside the chamber. We see another view from inside the Main Control Building showing large windows. In this view, we see the construction site through the windows with a mobile crane and some piping in the work area. There is a view showing the roof of the Main Control Building with some equipment covered in tarps. The video also shows large pipes and other equipment being put in place, like the pumps for the Raw Sewage Pumping Station and rebar for concrete. Workers are shown climbing stairs and walking near formwork. A large truck with an extender arm for concrete pours is shown beside a structure showing tall columns under construction. There are views of a concrete structure under construction showing a steel structure and formwork. There is a new view looking up towards the sky with three pipes extending upwards. These pipes are the discharges for the raw sewage pumps. We again see workers walking across the work area and then views of concrete structures under construction with exposed rebar to connect to the next concrete pour. The video continues with a view of the Main Control Building showing exterior finishes partially installed and an aerial view of the work area. There is a view of a sunset showing a roof with equipment under tarps and a mobile crane and extender arm for concrete pours in the background. There are various views of formwork and building exteriors. We see an aerial view of work continuing in the winter showing snow on the ground and tarps enclosing an active work area. There are views of discharge pipes supported by a steel structure and a crane working near a steel structure. We can see an overhead view of a round chamber showing a steel pipe supported by a steel frame. There are views of buildings with rebar ready for tying, a steel structure being erected behind transformers, and a freshly poured concrete floor. There is a view looking down into a chamber showing a large diameter pipe going into the wall of the chamber. This pipe is being used for underground tunneling. We see various views of the outside of buildings some with exterior finishing applied and others with tarps covering uncompleted areas. We see three pumps connected to discharge pipes in a concrete room. The video ends with an outside look at the Headworks Facilities. We can see the exterior finishes are installed, a steel structure is erected, and a tower crane is in the background.

Headworks facilities are the entry way for wastewater to the treatment plant. It removes large debris and grit to protect downstream equipment and processes. This project includes upgrades to:

• Raw sewage pumping
• Screening
• Grit removal

As the Headworks is the first stage of treatment, we need to finish it before the other two projects. This project is currently under construction, and we expect to complete it in 2026.

Support projects:

The Power Supply and Headworks Facilities capital budget also funded these support projects already in progress:

• Distributed Control System Migration
• Primary Clarification Upgrades
• Ultraviolet (UV) Light Upgrades

The Distributed Control System Migration will replace plant communication and automation equipment.

Primary clarification uses gravity to separate solids from liquids in the wastewater. We are upgrading this equipment to include new scum filter presses. The scum filter presses will remove water from scum and prevent it from going to the digesters. Preventing scum from entering the digesters lets us preserve critical digester capacity. Digesters are tanks where microorganisms break down the organic material in wastewater. The digesters have to maintain specific conditions for the bacteria. This is more challenging because they only have so much capacity to do their work.

The UV Upgrades project will replace the existing, outdated UV disinfection system. We expect the new UV system to reduce the amount of electricity it uses by about 75 percent.

All three projects are in progress, and we expect to complete them in 2027.

Biosolids Facilities

The Biosolids Upgrade will include a new facility to turn sludge into biosolids. Sludge is a product of wastewater treatment. When turned into biosolids, we can reuse it as a nutrient dense fertilizer.

The new facility will be able to process enough sludge to meet the needs of our growing city. It will also help us meet our licensing requirements. Work has begun on this project, and we expect to complete it in 2030.

Nutrient Removal Facilities

The Nutrient Removal Facilities project involves upgrading several different areas including:

• Bioreactors
  • These are vessels that provide a stable environment for biological wastewater treatment
• Fermenters
  • These are a type of bioreactor. They create an environment that supports microbial fermentation processes. These processes help further break down organic material in wastewater
• Secondary clarifiers
  • These are tanks that separate solids from liquid wastewater after treatment

These facilities treat and recover nutrients like phosphorus from wastewater. They also collect and pre-treat the sludge before it goes to the biosolids facilities.

This project will help us meet our licensing requirements. We expect to complete this project in 2032.

Procurement - how we complete the upgrades

The NEWPCC upgrade is the largest and most complex capital project in Winnipeg's history. Over $3 billion dollars of upgrades are underway at the plant. Because it's such a big and expensive job, it's important to put a lot of thought into how we build it.

This is where procurement comes in. Procurement is the process we use to find the things we need to complete a project. This includes materials, equipment, services, and labour.

The NEWPCC upgrade projects use two different procurement methods:

• Design-Build method
  • The Power Supply and Headworks Facilities used a Design-Build method because it:
    • Is quicker than using a Design-Bid-Build method
    • Is ideal for large, less-defined projects like Power Supply and Headworks
    • Ensures consistency by having one team working on the contract
• Progressive Design-Build method
  • The Biosolids Upgrade and the Nutrient Removal Facilities will use this method because:
    • It's more flexible and allows changes as things move forward
    • Allows us to adapt designs to meet budgets with ease
  • This is important for these projects because they are complex. Things could change as the plans progress

Picking the right model helps us:

• Ensure good value for the money we spend
• Complete projects on time
• Avoid surprises
• Protect the environment
• Manage budgets

Each project is different. Some are simple and some are very tricky. We look at what's best for the job, how much risk we can handle, and what builders and designers are willing to do.

That's how we make sure we're building safe, strong, and smart for the future.

Social Procurement

In 2022, Council directed us to include social procurement clauses in the remaining NEWPCC Upgrade Projects.

Social procurement uses our purchasing power to create value. This can include:

• Purchasing goods or services from under-represented or Indigenous suppliers
• Using social enterprises
• Including social benefits criteria in contracts

The Biosolids Upgrade is the first of the upgrade projects to use social procurement. Some of the key requirements for the upgrade projects include:

• Hiring targets for indigenous and under-represented workers during construction
• Offering training and apprenticeship opportunities
• Incentives and penalties for exceeding or failing to meet hiring targets
• Public reporting on the results of social procurement efforts