The Nanaimo Reservoir No. 1 and Energy Recover Facility together express the City of
Nanaimo’s desire to serve its community with high quality drinking water while
realizing its goals of sustainability. The City has long recognized the potential to
recover energy from its water supply system, and the commissioning of the new South
Fork Water Treatment Plant and resulting Reservoir No. 1 provided this opportunity.
Our design team developed a low‐cost and effective energy recovery system using
Pump as Turbine technology and other standard water supply equipment. In contrast
to the usual approach, the energy recovery facility was the centrepiece of the project,
meant to showcase innovation and environmental benefit. The energy recovery
facility, piping systems and reservoir work together to provide an optimal functional
layout while at the same time fitting inside a constrained site.