Joint Venture Completes Design-Build Work on 1st Wastewater Treatment Plant in B.C.

Design-Build work has been completed on the first wastewater treatment plant in Victoria, British Columbia. The McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant provides tertiary treatment for wastewater from the core area municipalities of Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, View Royal, Langford and Colwood, and the Esquimalt and Songhees nations. Work at the facility began in 2017 by Harbour Resource Partners, a joint venture between AECOM and Graham. The plant is the main component of a CAD$775-million wastewater program undertaken by the Capital Regional District.

The Design-Build partnership leveraged AECOM’s wastewater design and environmental expertise and Graham’s competence in this sector of construction in Canada. Despite logistical challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was successfully delivered on time, meeting federal and provincial regulations.

The project underwent extensive consultation with local indigenous communities. Environmental work included acquisition of all permits and approvals required for construction. Leveraging the strength of the Design-Build team’s technical experience in large-scale, multi-phase water projects, the plant’s relatively small footprint incorporates elements that promote sustainability and energy efficiency, including the construction of an operations and maintenance building, built to LEED Gold certification requirements, that utilizes heat recovery from within the facility. In addition, an education and interpretive space is featured on the second floor of the building to engage the community with the plant’s water cycle, local natural environment and the overall importance of stormwater management.

The plant can treat 108 megaliters of wastewater per day to a tertiary level – one of the highest levels of treatment available – leading to cleaner ocean waters in and around the south coast of British Columbia and northern Washington state. Prior to the plant’s opening, Victoria and its suburban municipalities would release all its wastewater into Juan de Fuca Strait, having just passed through screens.

Photos courtesy of Capital Regional District.