Situated on the waterfront overlooking Lake Ontario, the Oakville Water Purification Plant is nestled in an established and prominent neighbourhood, and delivers safe drinking water to residents of the Region of Halton. The Region of Halton required major upgrades to the 100-year-old facility to replace aging infrastructure, address regulatory requirements, and meet future drinking water demands. Constrained byresidences and the waterfront, space for expansion was limited. Associated Engineering employed a sustainable design approach, optimizing performance of unit processes and retrofitting or repurposing the facility’s existing infrastructure to increase capacity and improve treatment performance of the plant within the site footprint.
This approach limited disruption to the community and users of the waterfront trail. Careful planning and staging ensured drinking water supply to the community throughout the construction periods for each of the two phases of the upgrades, which began in 2005. Open communication kept residents informed and fostered a positive relationship.
Associated Engineering’s sustainable design approach provided cost efective improvements to the Oakville Water Purification Plant, delivering safe drinking water for the Region of Halton for many years to come. The project exemplifies how water utilities can defer large capital expenditures by maximizing value from their existing infrastructure assets.