North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant Project Community Newsletter

- Spring 2018 -

Welcome to the first edition of the Project's community newsletter. We are pleased to provide you with more information about the Project, ACCIONA and various community initiatives. We will continue to provide regular updates on Project activities on our website and through email. If you have any comments or suggestions for content for our next edition, please email our Community Liaison Officer at community@accionadbjv.ca.

Design Update 

The Project received District of North Vancouver Development Permit approval in December 2017. A key part of the process included refinements to the plant design. The renderings throughout this newsletter were part of the Development Permit submission and reflect the current design.

< Water wall - located in the arrival hall, this feature uses the topography of the Vancouver watershed to demonstrate the water cycle with captured rainwater. 

The cladding on the outside of the operations and maintenance building (pictured above and below) now reflects the topographical outline of the North Shore and Metro Vancouver coastline. >

Project Initiatives

We will use this section to provide you with an update on key initiatives undertaken by the Project. In our approach to mitigate potential construction related impacts to the community, we are pleased to report on the following initiatives. 

Transportation - Barged Materials

Our commitment to explore and consider alternative transportation options has resulted in barging materials for both stone column and pre-load activities.

Barging materials to nearby water access significantly reduces operational times for trucking. For example, ground improvements require 15,000 truckloads of materials. Barging materials helps to reduce truck traffic north of West 1st Street. 

Transportation - Project Shuttle Program

In consideration of the traffic and parking challenges in the area, the Project conducted an internal transportation survey. This resulted in the launch of a pilot shuttle program to transport Project employees to and from nearby traffic hubs. The Project is pleased to announce that the employee shuttle program will continue throughout 2018.

Coordination with Local Industrial Businesses

The Project is working closely with neighbouring industrial businesses. One key initiative included an area-wide employee transportation study. This study was shared with the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce to discuss upcoming construction requirements in the area to help reduce traffic impacts to the community.

Noise - Back Up Alarms

As part of our noise mitigation measures implemented during the Project's temporary nighttime work, we installed self-adjusting broadband back up alarms on equipment on site. These alarms emit a less invasive "chhh-chhh" sound and adjust to the minimal volume necessary to be clearly audible. This is an alternative to the single tone back up alarms that are typically associated with machinery.

Spotlight: Besos Wastewater Treatment Plant

Besos is an ACCIONA facility in Barcelona, Spain that shares many similarities to the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant – it’s fully contained, next to a city centre and uses a world-class odour control system.

Besos completed construction in 2004 and treats 525 million litres of water per day.

Besos is an example of how a wastewater treatment facility can operate in a major city centre with no detectable odours.  

Project Definitions:

Digesters

Large, cement cylinders that play an integral role in wastewater treatment. Digesters stabilize and reduce the volume of the solids. For the Project, the digesters will be located at the west end of the site.

Wheel wash

As part of our commitment to mitigate construction related impacts, we've installed a wheel wash station on our site. Trucks delivering materials drive through the wheel wash station as they exit the site, reducing the amount of site materials and debris on local roads.

Building Educational Opportunities 

ACCIONA was proud to host a group of geotechnical students from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) to view ground strengthening activities currently occurring on site. 

Students learned about the installation method, patterns and processes for the Project's ground improvement requirements. Did you know that each stone column uses approximately one tonne of material per metre? 

Educational opportunities are an important component of the plant and integral to ACCIONA's core values. 

Stay tuned for an update on other educational initiatives in our next edition.