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Source Control

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Environmental Stewardship in Action

Keeping our environment safe requires a cooperative effort between your municipality and industry.  The Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission (ACRWC), in conjunction with its 13 member municipalities, is introducing a wastewater source control program –an initiative aimed at reducing the amount of contaminants being sent to the Capital Region Wastewater Treatment Plant.  Our mission is to provide safe, reliable, costefficient and environmentally responsible wastewater transmission and treatment service.

A source control program manages the discharges into the system at the source, where pollution should and can be prevented.  To protect the environment, as well as the operating capabilities of the regional treatment plant, limits have been established concerning what may be put into the sewer system by industry, commercial and institutions (ICIs).

The main objectives of the wastewater source control program are to:

• Allocate costs fairly.

• Protect the sewer infrastructure from corrosive materials or from materials that can clog the sewer system.

• Protect wastewater treatment processes and prevent poor quality discharge into the environment.

• Eliminate the discharge of toxic, flammable or explosive materials into the wastewater flow.

• Help ICIs reduce their environmental impact.

 

Do Your Part to Protect the Environment

Our wastewater treatment plant has advanced treatment processes such as biological nutrient removal (BNR) process and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection.

The negative impacts of contaminants in the wastewater system can range from higher operations and maintenance costs to the complete failure of the biological processes.  

Having many toxic contaminants removed at the source also protects wastewater industry workers.  Workers maintaining the sewer system must operate in a safe environment.  The discharge of flammable, toxic, or oxygen-depleting substances can be harmful to workers and adjacent residents.

 

Handling Wastewater Disposal Responsibly

The introduction of the source control program changes the way ACRWC will charge its member municipalities for the treatment of their wastewater discharge.

The charge will move from being a solely flowbased charge (volume of water used by the ICIs) to a charge that takes into account the types and levels of concentrations of contaminants that are being discharged by ICIs in addition to water usage.



For more information, please download our Source Control Pamphlet, FOG Fact Sheet, or Sump Fact Sheet.