Updated October 2017
It’s been one year since we broke ground on the four-year, $88 million expansion and upgrade of the Cataraqui Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant.
We wanted to share an update on our progress to increase plant capacity, improve the quality of treated wastewater the plant discharges, and upgrade equipment. Thank you to our contractor North America Construction Ltd.
The west-end plant was constructed in 1962 and went through its last major upgrade in 2002. The upgrades were identified as a City of Kingston priority in the 2010 Sewage Infrastructure Master Plan. The planned project is the largest in the four-year municipal utility capital budgets for 2015-2018, as approved by City Council. It’s funded through utility rates and impost funds.
The upgrade will increase the plant’s capacity from 38,800 to 55,000 cubic meters per day to meet projected population growth. Learn more about the project.
Did you know?
Work on the project is being sequenced so there will be no disruption to sewer services for our customers.
Our progress
Over the past year, efforts focused on constructing buildings for the secondary treatment system and dewatering facility – the building structures are in now place. Next steps include interior work for these buildings, such as mechanical and electrical systems, and treatment equipment installation.
The project work is being completed for Utilities Kingston by North America Construction Ltd. Work on the primary treatment system (buildings and equipment) is slated to begin in the spring of 2018.
By ensuring the reliability of wastewater services and helping to protect Lake Ontario, this project will benefit the community today and generations to come.
Get an overview of wastewater treatment from our page on the state-of-the-art and environmentally sound Ravensview Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Our progress, in pictures
View from the top of the new dewatering building, looking at the existing plant and new construction of biological aerated filter (BAF) facility building. The plant upgrade will improve the quality of treated wastewater that is discharged to Lake Ontario in the form of natural resource quality water.
View from south of biological aerated filter facility, showing construction of the biological aerated filter cells. This new process will combine the biological treatment and filtration of wastewater into one system that removes ammonia, along with most dissolved contaminants and solids.
Construction of the influent and effluent concrete pressure pipe that carries sewage going into and out of the biological aerated filter facility.
Construction of the secondary treatment building structure - view of south-end of biological aerated filter facility.
Construction of the biosolids/dewatering building structure.
New workshop excavation alongside the old workshop.
The above two photos show the tunnel that connects the new biological aerated filter facility
to the existing tunnel network at the plant.