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Treatment summary
Highlights
Two treatment facilities operated in January – March 2022 (Q1).
- The West Line Creek Active Water Treatment Facility (WLC AWTF) was fully operational, with the volume treated slightly exceeding the design capacity in March.
- The Elkview Operations Saturated Rock Fill (EVO SRF) was also fully operational, with discharge water quality continuing to improve as the facility stabilizes following introduction of water from Natal Pit as another treatment source in November 2021. The average treatment volume was reduced in late March due to a power outage, a maintenance shutdown, and as a preventative measure to maintain temperature limits in Erickson Creek.
Start-up of the new Fording River South Active Water Treatment Facility (FRO-S AWTF) continued during this time period.
- Flows were gradually increased in the first of three treatment trains while the second treatment train was prepared for start-up.
- The second treatment train started discharging treated water to the Fording River at the very end of the quarter, on March 27th.
- Despite still being in the start-up phase and only treating less than one-third of its design capacity, the FRO-S AWTF set a new daily Elk Valley record for nitrate removal on March 29th.
The next treatment facility will be the Fording River Operations North 1 Saturated Rockfill (FRO-N1 SRF).
- The first phase of this facility (treatment capacity of 9,500 m3/day) has been permitted and is being prepared for start-up.
- Water is circulating within the facility, but is not yet discharging to the environment.
- Permit applications for the second phase, which will bring the capacity up to 30,000 m3/day, will be submitted to B.C government regulators next quarter.
Overall, Elk Valley treatment facilities operated at approximately 82% of total potential capacity this quarter. Facilities removed 534 kg of selenium and 51,530 kg of nitrate. These are the largest quarterly removals of selenium and nitrate to date in the Elk Valley.
Treatment Progress
Amount of selenium removed and remaining in the Elk River
Amount of nitrate removed and remaining in the Elk River
The graphs above show the total estimated amount of selenium and nitrate in the Elk River at Fernie as grey bars, and the amount of selenium (green bars) and nitrate (blue bars) removed by treatment, each quarter.
The substance amounts removed by treatment increased notably during the first quarter of 2022. This large increase in treatment was a result of the FRO-S AWTF entering its start-up phase and beginning to discharge treated water to the environment.
- Selenium removal increased by 55% from the previous quarter and was more than 200% greater than during the first quarter of 2021.
- Nitrate removal increased by nearly 70% from the previous quarter and more than 200% greater than during the first quarter of 2021.
Consistent with the increase in treatment, the amount removed compared to the amount measured in the Elk River also increased between Q1 2021 and Q1 2022. This can be visualized by comparing the relative size of the colored bars and the grey bars in each quarter. The increase during this period is a result of the EVO SRF becoming operational and the FRO-S AWTF beginning it’s start-up phase.
The substance amounts in the Elk River are calculated from water quality data collected by EVR and flow data collected by the Water Survey of Canada. The amount of each substance in the Elk River varies with the amount of flow in the river. In general, the higher the flow the greater the amount, and vice-versa.
