Lunenburg Wastewater Treatment Plant overhead view
Lunenburg’s Town Council has agreed to move forward with plans to upgrade the town’s waste water treatment.
In their latest meeting, they approved a three-phase project that will see upgrades made at the wastewater treatment facility along with the relocation of an effluent outflow.
Phase One will see the town relocate the effluent outfall from its current location at Fishermen’s Wharf in the inner harbour to Burma Road at the outer harbour to allow for good dispersion. The Implementation Plan targets 2023/24 for the relocated outfall to be operational.
The second component of the plan focuses on short-term upgrades to the existing waster water facility. Those upgrades will include things like; headworks modifications, building aeration and other maintenance, online instrumentation, polymer pumps, UV disinfection, standby generator, building mechanical upgrades, and flood control.
The final and most impactful of the phases are long-term upgrades to the facility. The town aims to transition the plant to a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR)-based treatment system which does not require polymer use and provides good effluent quality at a reduced operational cost. Strategic separation of stormwater and wastewater sewers along with combatting salt water intrusion will allow for increased capacity as the town grows. It is hoped that the upgraded plant would be operational by 2025/26.
The plans need to approved by Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change. Assuming it’s is approved the next steps would include conducting geotechnical investigations, developing final engineering designs, and seeking funding.
