Science will dictate design of North End sewage plant, Pallister government contends

The Pallister government has opened the door a crack for Winnipeg to re-examine upgrades to theNorth End sewage-treatment plant, the most expensive capital project on the city's books.

As part of environmental upgrades ordered by the province in 2003, the city plans to spend $795 million to make improvements tothe North End Water Pollution Control Centre, the largest of the city's three sewage-treatment plants.

• No completion date in the pipe for $795M North End sewage-plant upgrades

The biggest component of those upgradesis a nutrient-removal facility that would capture most of thenitrogen and phosphorus exuded by the plant when it sends effluent into the Red River. Those nutrients are carried into Lake Winnipeg, where they promote the growth of algae that alters the lake's ecology and diminishes its water quality.

For decades, freshwater scientists have argued it'smore important to remove phosphorus from the effluent stream than it is to remove nitrogen, which blue-green algae are capable of acquiring directly from the air.

During the Sam Katz administration, city wastewater engineers pleaded with the provinceto allow the city to design and build nutrient-removal facilities that just capture phosphorus, as this would be less expensive and better for Lake Winnipeg.

• Katz vows to fight province on sewage treatment

The Selinger government refused, insisting on the removal of both phosphorus and nitrogen from the city's wastewatereffluent. Both nutrients are removed at theWest End sewage-treatment plantand are also slated to be removed from the SouthEnd plant, whose upgrades will be completed by 2018.

The city has yet to even award the design contract for the North End upgrades, which won't be finished until the 2020s.

On Tuesday, the Pallister government said the province is now open to discussing changes to project's scope.

"The primary objective of projects such as the upgrades at the North End wastewater treatment plant, is to improve water quality in Manitoba. We need to rely on good science and good technology to help achieve this objective," Sustainable Development Minister CathyCox said in a statement.

"Departmental officials are available to discuss with the city on how best to address nutrient loading, improve water quality and effectively manage the cost of projects."

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said he has yet toraisetheissue with the Pallister government but will work with the province on the sewage-treatment upgrades.

"Obviously we want science to dictate how we can do our part as a cityto ensure the healthof LakeWinnipeg in particular," Bowman saidoutside city hall.

"That'ssomething Ibelieve is very importantto Winnipeggers. Wewant to makesure we're using the money that we have as wisely as possibleto get the bestresults possible."

Geoff Patton, engineering manager for Winnipeg's water and waste department, said a provincial emphasis on phosphorus-removal alone could also benefit the South End Water Pollution Control Centre.

Even though theSouth End plant is being designed to remove both nutrients, a change to the city's environmental license would it make it cheaper to operate that facility if only phosphorus was removed from its effluent, Patton said.