AWARD OF EXCELLENCE / WATER RESOURCES Lorne Park Water Treatment Plant Expansion
October 1, 2013
By AECOM and GENIVAR
AECOM, in partnership with
AECOM, in partnership with
GENIVAR and other sub-consultants, was commissioned by the Region of Peel to design the $200-million expansion of the Lorne Park Water Treatment Plant. The plant provides water for the western parts of the cities of Mississauga and Brampton in southern Ontario.
The retrofit, completed in 2010, merges older approaches with new technologies to achieve high levels of water treatment. The plant now incorporates the largest retrofitted low pressure municipal membrane filtration system in the world, and the largest municipal ultra-violet advanced oxidation installation in North America.
The plant now has an expansion capacity of 500 million litres per day, which will enable it to service population growth in one of the fastest growing regions in Canada to the year 2031.
Saving space and costs
The facility is built largely underground within picturesque Jack Darling Memorial Park on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The overall size of the project was a challenge as it was necessary to contain the expansion within the existing footprint of the original 1976 plant and not impede on the park’s environment.
The design delivers construction cost savings to the region, while improving function, safety and aesthetics.
Some highlights of the project are:
• A new low-lift pumping station was built, and while it used up the last available space on the east side, it gave an opportunity to retrofit the existing pumping station, ultimately increasing its capacity;
• The installation of a UV disinfection process avoided the construction of an additional reservoir, saving space and money;
• Previously engineered filters were retrofitted to provide additional treatment performance requirements;
• The membrane system design allows for the potential deterioration of the raw water quality in the future;
• Provisions in the membrane system design were made to provide constant and reduced feed and filter flow rates. This approach eases operations and reduces the cost of other treatment processes.
• A 12-month pilot study was done to test potential membrane equipment and an 18-month catalytic carbon study was done that involved international vendors. The equipment procured was UV advanced oxidation (200 ML/d), disinfection (500 ML/d), membrane filtration (380 ML/d) and GAC (380 ML/d, catalytic carbon).
• Construction had to be staged to keep the plant operating at all times.
Enhancing the Park Environment
The sewage pumping stations were upsized and located away from nearby Rattray Marsh to avoid polluting it.
The team’s landscaping expertise was applied to make Jack Darling Park a pleasant environment and the topography around the plant was used for developing park features. For example, a narrow and steep sloped area in the expansion of the building became a gentle path up to a leash-free dog-walking zone on top of the plant. A toboggan run on the northeast side was maintained and the building walls were exposed as much as possible to create “garden walls.”
The project was completed 20 days ahead of schedule and produces high quality water that exceeds Ontario Drinking Water Quality Standards. cce
Project:
Lorne Park Water Treatment Plant Expansion, Mississauga, Ont.
Owner:
Regional Municipality of Peel
Award-winning firms:
AECOM (prime consultant), GENIVAR
(partner); (Brian Sahely, P.Eng., Martin Gravel, P.Eng., Hang Nguyen, P.Eng., Mike McGee, Matt Thurston, Brian Vistorino, P.Eng.,
Thomas Rapley, Joseph Eratostene, P.Eng., Ron Carligia, P.Eng.)
Consultants:
B.J. Tworzyanski (electrical); PROF&E (contract
management); Brown & Storey (architects); Salvatori (landscape )
General contractor:
Maple Reinders.
Other key players:
Ontario Clean Water Agency, C&M McNally, Kenaidan, Lexsan Electrical
Supplier:
GE Water & Process Technologies (membrane
filtration equipment).Juror Comments:
“The jury appreciated how this expansion of an existing plant integrates and blends into the existing park, along with the engineers’ use of innovative technologies and holistic approach.”
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