Hauled Wastewaster Facility Closing at South End Water Pollution Control Centre

The City of Winnipeg will be closing the hauled wastewater disposal facility at the South End Water Pollution Control Centre (sewage treatment plant) to reduce the risk to the new nutrient removal sewage treatment process. This closure will happen no earlier than January 31, 2016.  Customers of the wastewater disposal facility at the South End sewage treatment plant were to receive notice of this closure from their wastewaster hauler.

As an alternative, the hauled wastewater disposal facility at the North End Water Pollution Control Centre will continue to receive and treat hauled wastewater.

Background Information

The City operates sewage treatment plants under an Environment Act Licence issued by the Province of Manitoba. The licences set terms and conditions that the City must meet, and requires that the City monitors plant operations and the quality of effluent discharged from the plants. To view the licenses and compliance reports, visit:  http://www.winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/sewage/WPCClicenseMonitor.stm

Closure of the South End sewage treatment plant was approved by the City of Winnipeg on April 14, 2015. To see the Meeting Minutes, please visit:   South End Sewage Treatment Plant – IRPW Minutes April 14, 2015

In July, 2007, the City also closed the hauled wastewater disposal facility at the West End sewage treatment plant, due to the risk to the treatment processes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is hauled wastewater?

• Hauled wastewater is:
  • raw sewage that is pumped out of septic tanks, holding tanks, and tanks/interceptors,
  • more concentrated than regular wastewater (2 to 340 times higher), and the higher the concentration, the more costly the treatment,
  • more taxing on the treatment processes than regular sewered wastewater.

 Where does the wastewater originate?

• Wastewater is hauled from:
  • properties outside of Winnipeg that aren’t connected to a sewer system,
  • businesses and industries within Winnipeg connected to the City’s sewer system that also have pump-out tanks/interceptors containing liquid waste from their business processes,
  • solids and sludge from neighbouring sewage treatment plants,
  • properties, primarily household, within Winnipeg but not serviced by the City’s sewer system (e.g., properties south of Wilkes), and
  • portable chemical toilets.

 The hauled wastewater disposal facility at the West End sewage treatment plant closed in 2007.  At that time, the plan was to upgrade and keep the disposal facilities at both the North End and the South End sewage treatment plants open. What’s changed?

• Recent studies show that continuing to accept hauled wastewater at the South End sewage treatment plant is not only costly, but too great a risk for the sewage treatment processes.
  • Hauled wastewater at the South End sewage treatment plant would harm the new biological nutrient removal process and could result in licence violations.

How frequently is the hauled wastewater disposal facility at the South End sewage treatment plant used compared to the North End sewage treatment plant?

• In 2013, there were a total of 16,177 loads wastewater were hauled to both disposal facilities:
  • total truck loads to the South End sewage treatment plant – 5,729 (35.4%)
  • total truck loads to the North End sewage treatment plant – 10,448 (64.6%)

 Will there be any impact on the treatment processes at the North End sewage treatment plant with the increased flow of hauled wastewater?

• Studies show that there should be no impact on the biological nutrient removal process.
• The North End sewage treatment plant is much larger than the South End sewage treatment plant and can accommodate the additional hauled wastewater.

 Will any modifications be required to the hauled wastewater disposal facility at the North End sewage treatment plant to handle the additional loads of hauled wastewater?

• The disposal facility at the North End sewage treatment plant will be expanded from two to three hauling lanes to accommodate the additional haulers.
• Cost recovery for the upgrades to the hauled wastewater facility at the North End sewage treatment plant will continue to be borne entirely by the haulers.

 How many haulers currently use the City’s two disposal facilities?

• Haulers must obtain an annual licence from the Water and Waste Department to use the City’s hauled wastewater disposal facilities.
• As of October 2014, 50 wastewater hauling companies have 102 disposal vehicles licensed.

 How many haulers use the disposal facility at the South End sewage treatment plant?

• Based on the period of July 1 to September 30, 2014, out of the 31 active haulers:
  • 20 haulers used the South End sewage treatment plant disposal facility as one of their disposal sites,
  • 7 haulers used the South End plant disposal facility as their sole disposal site,
  • 11 haulers did not use the South End plant disposal facility at all.

 Where does the wastewater originate that is disposed at the South End plant?

• Based on the first three quarters of 2014 (January 1 to September 30, 2014):
  • 81% of the loads were for addresses in Winnipeg (or very closely surrounding areas)
  • 19% of the loads were from outside of Winnipeg (Headingley, Cartier, Blumenort, Grand Point, Howden, Ile Des Chenes, La Salle, Macdonald, Oak Bluff, Oakbank, Springfield, Dugald, St. Adolphe, St. Germain, St, Norbert, Steinbach, and Winkler)

 How will wastewater haulers and their customers be advised of the closure of the disposal facility at the South End sewage treatment plant?

• An information meeting was held with haulers on January 22, 2015 to inform them of the City’s intent to close the facility.
• The haulers will communicate as required with their customers.
• Notice of closure will also be posted at both hauled wastewater disposal facilities.

For additional information, please E-Mail 311@winnipeg.ca.