DRAYTON VALLEY WATER TREATMENT PLANT

The primary goal of the project – that is, the true need, was to complete a new WTP to replace the aging facility – one that would be equipped to meet the current and future needs of the Town.

Client: Town of Drayton Valley

Location: Drayton Valley, AB

Project Type: Water Wastewater

About This Project

Much like many municipalities throughout Alberta, the Town of Drayton Valley has experienced a dynamic growth in population and civic development. While this growth comes with many positive benefits, it also places inevitable stress on existing infrastructure – especially infrastructure that was designed and built in the early stages of the Town’s development.

The design was largely driven by the Town with its expectation that the new facility
would not only grow to meet local demand but the project would include as many
sustainable and environmentally conscious aspects as possible.

The Town was clear in its desire for a WTP with a sustainable focus that would encapsulate the true basics of sustainable design, including improving efficiencies and performance, lowering operating costs, streamlining environmental and material impacts, measuring short and long-term payoffs and redefining the status quo. All of these initiatives would ensure that the new treatment plant exceeded all expectations, while quietly doing the job it was designed for. Committed to inspiring sustainable thinking, ISL took this mission to heart, designing and constructing a state-of-the-art sustainable water treatment facility that included a number of high-performance and efficient sustainable features and considered the environment every step of the way.

Transitioning from Old to New

While the original plan was to design and construct a new dedicated raw water pump station before the new WTP, the was the funding worked out negated this plan and the new WTP was designed and constructed first. This meant that for the new WTP to receive raw water, the existing WTP and high lift pumping and piping infrastructure had to be modified to achieve dual purpose (i.e., remain the main source of potable water for the Town, while also serving as an interim raw water pump station supplying untreated raw water to the new WTP) with no risk of cross contamination. This required internal piping and control system modifications to effectively create an interim raw water supply system separate from the water treatment process, while coming from the same source of water. The interim raw water supply system will remain in place until a new, fully separate raw water pump system is introduced.

The team made the transition as smooth as possible to ensure that the new treatment process was commissioned without impacting the community’s water supply. To reduce errors and minimize disruption to the existing WTP and distribution system while integrating the new plant and watermain connections, the design team, contractor and owner devised a step by- step commissioning and communication plan with visual diagrams. This plan was an essential element in the successful transition.