Sustaining Ecosystem Balance
Water is a precious commodity and we are fortunate to have an abundant supply passing through our City. Although the supply is large, it is a fragile ecosystem where humans can disrupt the balance. The river is our future and we must ensure that we protect that valuable resource.
Up until 1972, raw wastewater from the City of Prince Albert was discharged directly into the North Saskatchewan River. At that time, the J.W. Oliver Pollution Control Centre was constructed to provide primary wastewater treatment. This consisted of passing the influent wastewater through a clarifier for solids settlement, then through a chlorine contact chamber for disinfection before discharging to the river. The sludge removed from the clarifier was thickened and incinerated. This plant treated the wastewater to primary standards.
In 1990, The City of Prince Albert started planning for construction of a facility capable of achieving secondary treatment standards. In 1998, the City embarked on a major upgrade to the J.W. Oliver Pollution Control Center. A Conventional Activated Sludge process was implemented to achieve secondary wastewater treatment standards. The wastewater passes through primary clarifiers, bioreactors, secondary clarifiers, and finally through a disinfecting process before a belt filter press. The dewatered sludge (bio-solids) enters a treatment and stabilization process using environtmentally friendly composting procedures. Commissioned in the fall of 1999, the performance of this plant far exceeds our expectations and easily meets the Provincial Standards for secondary effluent.
In 2009, the City commissioned a UV (Ultraviolet) Disinfection System to destroy pathogens in our final effluent. This system replaced the antiquated chlorine disinfection system in order to provide disinfection in a more environmentally friendly manner.