CRD approves $765 million single-site sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Point

All but one CRD board member approved the recommendations that a liquids-treatment facility be located at McLoughlin Point – sending most of Greater Victoria’s sewage to Esquimalt.

This decision follows a report recommending that liquids treatment be located at the McLoughlin Point site in Esquimalt and solids processing be located at Hartland landfill in Saanich.

The plan includes a process to develop an integrated resource management solution for the region’s waste and a commitment to advance studies for a wastewater treatment proposal in Colwood.

Specifically, the plan calls for:

1. A single 108 megalitre/day plant (the Plant) for the tertiary treatment of wastewater at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt, based on a revised design, to be in operation by December 31, 2020; the Plant will be operated by the CRD.
2. A construction laydown area for the Plant at Rock Bay in Victoria, under lease from the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations to enable barging of materials.
3. Upgrades to the collection system, including improvements to the building and surrounding site at the Macaulay Point pump station in Esquimalt.
4. A conveyancing system for the residual solids to be transported by pipe to the Hartland landfill in Saanich.
5. A plant for the treatment of residual solids at Hartland landfill to produce Class A biosolids, and interim storage of biosolids, pending the introduction of an integrated resource management solution for all waste streams. This plant would be procured using a Design-Build-Finance-Operate (DBFO) model.
6. A process to create an integrated resource management solution for waste in the CRD.
7. A commitment to advance studies for a wastewater treatment proposal in Colwood, including up to $2 million to complete the required technical studies and environmental impact assessments.
8. The development of a multi-year plan to improve CRD sewage facilities to mitigate their impacts on host communities.

Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell was the lone board member voting against the plan. He was not available for comment when we reached out to him.

The capital cost of the approved plan is approximately $765 million.

The CRD will submit the revised plan and new business case to the provincial and federal governments for financial and regulatory approval.