Greater Napanee Water Pollution Control Plant (Wastewater Treatment) Upgrades

Background:

The Napanee Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) is located at 300 Water Street W., Napanee, Ontario. It was originally constructed in 1953 and was upgraded to the present-day secondary treatment process in 1978. Based on current design standards, the Napanee WPCP presently serves approximately 2000 more (30%) people than it was designed to serve when the last capacity upgrade was completed 45 years ago.

Flow reduction and equipment maintenance programs have extended the life of the facility and decreased average annual flows, however; extreme weather, community growth, and outdated equipment continue to result in frequent process bypassing and increased operating costs. Although maintained throughout the years, buildings, process tanks, mechanical, and electrical equipment are nearing the end of expected service life and require refurbishing or replacement. The facility fails to meet current design guidelines due to lack of redundancy, limited operability due to deficient flow measurement, and various other safety related concerns.

An upgrade to the facility is required to meet projected development needs for the next 20-30 years while aligning with the environmental recovery goals of the Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan.

Project Overview:

The primary goals of this project include replacing aging infrastructure, reducing/eliminating partially treated bypasses to the natural environment, and facilitating economic growth. The Napanee WPCP project includes a new build and rehabilitation of parts of the existing anaerobic digesters. This wastewater treatment facility will have a new headworks, activated granular sludge (AGS) tanks, tertiary treatment with Ultra-Violet (UV) disinfection, and an operations building.

Next Steps:

The Town of Greater Napanee recently awarded a construction contract to Peak Construction Ltd. for the Napanee Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) expansion and upgrade. The total cost of this project is $87,979,480. This wastewater treatment facility will be located beside our existing WPCP on Water Street West. The construction will commence in June 2025, and we expect that the upgraded facility will be operational in 2028.

Funding:

The Town has secured $34.8M in funding as part of the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund from the Province of Ontario as well as $14M in funding from the Government of Canada to help move the project forward. In addition to these grants, the project will be funded through development charges, issuance of debt and utilities reserve contributions. This project benefits the Town’s water and sewer customers (Utilities), and the project cost will be borne solely by current and future users, not the Town's general tax base.