White Rock Water Treatment Plant
2019 – 2020 | White Rock, BC
The City of White Rock (the City) piloted technology to remove arsenic and manganese from their groundwater source. This project included the design-build supply of a treatment plant that connects raw water from the City’s seven existing wells to a new 3-stage treatment process. The plant provides a design flow of 7 megaliters per day (MLD) for current demand and will expand to an average flow of 15 MLD by 2045.
The treatment plant has reduced the water’s arsenic content to 0.010 mg/L (well below limits set by Health Canada in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality). The City’s raw water manganese levels – between 0.05 and 0.18 mg/L – are typically non detect and always well below the of 0.05 mg/L manganese concentration limit. The treatment for arsenic and manganese removal includes ozonation to oxidize the arsenic, followed by two steps of adsorption to remove manganese and remaining arsenic. Final treatment includes chlorination of the treated water, which is directed to two existing reservoirs and distribution system.
McElhanney supported all aspects of project execution including representing the City during project implementation and providing a key contact for the selected design-build team with coordination of City staff. We also provided multidisciplinary support and supported in commissioning the plant. The timeline of the project met the required completion by March 31st, 2019 to meet grant funding requirements.
Key project challenges included:
- Meeting ultra-low levels of arsenic and manganese
- Meeting hard project deadlines to align with funding requirement
- Integrating new treatment to existing wells and SCADA
- Constructing new watermains in a busy urban area with limited as-built drawing information
- Organizing operation staff training for the new process
- Managing a design-build team for technical, commercial, and schedule commitments
