Metro Vancouver's first biosolids dryer will help region manage increase in sewage sludge
Plans to build Metro Vancouver’s first-ever biosolids dryer are underway, but project costs have increased by 70 per cent since it was first proposed in 2019.
On Oct. 29, the Metro Vancouver authority passed its spending budget for the coming year, making way for new projects, including a new facility that will transform sewage sludge into tiny, dry pellets.
“It's a proven technology that's in use throughout North America. But for us, it's a new addition,” said Lilian Zaremba, a program manager for Metro Vancouver’s liquid waste services.
The newly passed budget will also mean an increase in cost for households. In 2022, residents will contribute an annual average of $595 per household for all regional services, a $21 increase from 2021. The majority of the authority’s money comes from utility fees.
“(This is) a $21 increase over the prior year, but $17 less than what was previously projected,” reads a news release about the 2022 budget.
The biosolid drying facility, with construction set to begin 2024, will allow the Metro Vancouver authority to recover nutrients from wastewater (which contains poop and urine) and deal with a steady increase in sewage water as the population grows.
It’s tempting to refer to the project as a “poop dryer,” but Zaremba cautions against such oversimplification.
In Metro Vancouver, wastewater from toilets and sinks is processed at sewage plants with heat and microbes to destroy bad bacteria and reduce stinky smells. The liquid gets separated out, Zaremba explains, leaving behind a thick, grainy sludge called biosolids.
“Biosolids are like earth or soil that you pick up with your hands,” she said. Currently, this stuff is used in soil for landscaping or restoring land. But, according to Metro Vancouver, the region’s production of biosolids will soon outpace its need, resulting in an excess of biosolids.
Adding a dryer into the mix of options will help deal with the excess of biosolids. The dryer will transform the grainy, moist material into pellets that can be used as a low-carbon fuel in cement plants or mixed with other ingredients to become a fertilizer.
“Cement kilns can use these dried biosolids pellets as an alternative fuel and that reduces greenhouse gas emissions,” Zaremba said.
The biosolids dryer will likely be built adjacent to the sewage treatment plants on Annacis Island or in northwest Langley, Zaremba said. And, the machines will turn that sludge into dry pellets.
These little pellets look “like instant coffee,” she said.
The initial estimate for the project when it was proposed in 2019 was $197 million, but the latest projected cost is $337.7 million, a rise due in part to a project delay and an addition.
“We added some scope to treat the condensate, which is the liquid that comes out of the dryer … We need to treat that liquid before putting it in the treatment plant,” she said.
“Then there's escalation in construction costs,” she said. “During COVID, looking at ... the fiscal constraints in the region, we were looking at smoothing out the budget to reduce the household impact.”
“So this project was seen as something that could wait a couple years,” she said.
Making sure that the project doesn’t produce awful smells is a top priority in the design, Zaremba said.
“It won't increase the odours that anyone passing by our treatment plants already (notices),” she said.
“I know that's a concern for people when they hear the word ‘biosolids dryer,’ but it will be designed with very stringent odour controls.”
“We do have already low odours around our treatment plants and so it won’t increase the odours that are noticed in the treatment plant,” Zaremba said.
Correction
Nov. 7: This story has been updated from a previous version to correct its start date.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
A look back on Alberta's record-breaking wildfire season: Preparing for potential challenges in 2024
By the end of the 2023 wildfire season in Alberta, 1,088 wildfires had burned more than 2.2 million hectares of land, and this year, the wildfire season is already in full swing.
BREAKING Craig Berube named as next head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have named Craig Berube as their new head coach.
Video appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs beating singer Cassie in hotel hallway in 2016
Security video aired by CNN appears to show Sean 'Diddy' Combs physically assaulting singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta border: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Anglers reel in 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off coast of Florida: 'She found my bait'
A group of fishers said it took roughly 20 minutes to reel in this 3.5-metre-long tiger shark off the coast of Florida.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.