Saving Millions through Resurrecting the Decommissioned Taber WWTP using an Innovative Design-Build Approach

Taber Wastewater Treatment Plant
Taber, Alberta (Canada)

The upgraded Taber Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) is located in Southern Alberta and
treats the domestic wastewater from the Town of Taber (Town). The plant formerly consisted of
two (2) rotating biological contactors (RBCs) and two (2) secondary clarifiers. Due to
operational issues with the RBCs and available capacity in the industrial system, the domestic
wastewater system was decommissioned in 2000 and all of the domestic sewage was diverted to
the aerated lagoons for co-treatment with the industrial wastewater. The coarse manual bar
screen at the WWTP remained operational during the time that the WWTP was not in service.
In 2006, Stantec Consulting Ltd. (Stantec) teamed up with Lockerbie Stanley Inc. (Lockerbie)
and EPCOR Alberta Inc. (EPCOR) to upgrade and expand the decommissioned Taber WWTP by
implementing biological nutrient removal (BNR) through a Design-Build-Operate-Finance
(DBOF) delivery process. The project was completed for $ 15 million compared to the original
estimate of $ 28 million. The project presented several challenges including the reuse of
decommissioned infrastructure and extremely tight hydraulics while providing a process train
that met the future growth requirements of the Town and the Alberta Environment effluent
quality standards. The construction of the project started in November 2007 and the plant was
commissioned in early 2009. This paper outlines how the existing WWTP infrastructure has
been reused and provides information on the challenges associated with the design, construction
and commissioning of the WWTP along with recent plant performance data.

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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: <50K, Waste Water Treatment | Tags: Construction Savings, Cost Effective Plant Upgrade, Maximized Existing Infrastructure, Plant Optimization, Plant Sustainability | 1 Comment »

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