DIDSBURY WASTEWATER LAGOON UPGRADES

With the future in mind, the Town of Didsbury identified the need to expand its sanitary servicing capacity in an effort to accommodate growth.

Client: Town of Didsbury

Location: Didsbury, AB

Project Type: Municipal Infrastructure

About This Project

With the future in mind, the Town of Didsbury identified the need to expand its sanitary servicing capacity in an effort to accommodate growth. ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. worked alongside the Town providing preliminary and detailed design, tendering, and construction administration services for the rehabilitation and expansion of the Town’s existing wastewater lagoon facilities.

The Town’s existing facilities consisted of two separate sites known as the lower lagoon and upper lagoon. The lower lagoon site consisted of eight different anaerobic, facultative and storage cells whereas the upper lagoon consisted of one larger storage cell. Facing capacity issues at both locations, the town looked at a number of ways to expand the system.

It was determined that the project would require two phases. Phase 1 of the project, and the focus of this article, involved the remediation and expansion of the existing upper storage lagoon, adding approximately 215,000m3 of functional capacity. As part of the remediation process, over 18 hectares of HDPE liner was removed and completely recycled, minimizing impact on the environment. Additionally, through the use of creative construction staging, the impact on surrounding agricultural production was minimized, keeping landowners satisfied throughout the process.

Phase 2 of the project is currently under construction and involves the expansion of the lower lagoon by adding new anaerobic cells and converting the storage cell to a facultative cell.

With sustainability in mind, ISL focused on ensuring the project successfully incorporated the Town’s Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP). Economic, Social/Cultural, Environmental and Governance factors were weighed equally for unbiased consideration in the proposed engineering solutions for the wastewater lagoon expansion.

Preliminary design was instrumental in helping secure a grant from the Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership (AMWWP), ultimately ensuring the timely implementation of the lagoon upgrades once the grant was received.