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Treatment summary
Highlights
Three treatment facilities were fully operational in October – December 2022 (Q4).
- The West Line Creek Active Water Treatment Facility (AWTF) treated at its full design capacity in all three months.
- The Elkview Operations Saturated Rock Fill (EVO SRF) resumed treatment of water from Erickson Creek on October 4th after this source was offline for maintenance and aquatic health investigation since April. Treatment was reduced between October 18th and 30th because the mine needed to use Natal Pit water for dust suppression and this source was not sent for treatment during this period.
- The Fording River Operations South (FRO-S) AWTF continued to increase the amount of treatment in October following its formal start of operations in July. The amount of treatment declined in November and December because low flows in the source tributaries meant there was limited water available for treatment. Mechanical issues, water quality alarms and high solid waste inventory also resulted in five periods of reduced treatment, each a few days in duration. The FRO-S AWTF set new Elk Valley daily and monthly records for selenium and nitrate removal in this quarter.
Fording River Operations North 1 Saturated Rock Fill (FRO-N1 SRF) treatment facility is currently in development.
- The first phase of this facility (9,500 m3/day capacity) continues to prepare for start-up by circulating water within the facility. Permit applications for the second phase (30,000 m3/day total capacity, including Phase 1) are under review by regulators.
- This facility is not yet discharging treated water to the environment.
Overall, Elk Valley treatment facilities operated at approximately 67% of total potential capacity this quarter. Actual capacity at FRO-S was limited due to low flow conditions. Facilities removed 854 kg of selenium and 114,374 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 continued to increase during the fourth quarter of 2022.
- Selenium removal increased by 48% from the previous quarter and was approximately 150% greater than during the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Nitrate removal increased by 57% from the previous quarter and was more than 250% greater than during the fourth quarter of 2021.
Consistent with the increase in treatment, the amount removed compared to the amount measured in the Elk River also increased. This can be visualized by comparing the relative size of the colored bars and the grey bars in each quarter. This increase is largely a result of the FRO-S AWTF now removing significant quantities of selenium and nitrate from the watershed.
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.
