Greater Vancouver Regional District’s Liquid Waste Management Plan

1. Greater Vancouver Regional District’sLiquid Waste Management Plan

2. GVRD • 21 municipalities & one electoral area • Delivery of cost-effective utilities such as water, sewerage & drainage, & solid waste management • Environmental stewardship & livability in the region • Area size (Land & Water) : 329,202 hectares • Population: 2 million • Annual population growth rate: 1.6%

3. GreaterVancouverRegion

4. Historical Context The Sewerage and Drainage District and the first sewer plan date from 1914 The Rawn report recommended a sewerage plan for the growing region in the 1950s The current LWMP provides a new path for the future

5. Outfall Locations: • Untreated Sewage to Marine/Rivers Sewer System: 1950

6. Combined Sewer Outfalls Sewer System: 2000

7. First Sewerage Treatment Plants Annacis Is. Sewerage Treatment Plants VSA Operational Plan Estimated Volume of Untreated Sewage Discharge

8. The LWMP is a plan under the Provincial Waste Management Act Stage 3 and Addendum approved by all municipalities and GVRD - March 2001 Provincial Minister approved LWMP – April 2002 Federal agencies have participated in development of the Plan BIEAP / FREMP partnership used to address Federal issues LWMP Background

9. LWMP Strategies 1. Conserve Resources 2. Maintain Infrastructure and Stretch Capacity 3. Maximize Environmental Benefit per Dollar Spent

10. Strategic Context 1. Conserve Resources Pollution prevention Water conservation Stormwater as a resource

11. Strategic Context 2. Maintain Infrastructure and Stretch Capacity $12 billion dollars in existing wastewater assets

12. Strategic Context 3. Maximize Environmental Benefit per Dollar Spent Limited financial resources and affordability context

13. LWMP Management Process Based On: • Appropriate monitoring program • Defensible Triggers • Acceptable Risk • Reasonable Options • Mutually Agreeable Timelines

14. Process Context A science-based approach is needed There must be an understanding of environmental risk The cost and benefits of options must be considered The LWMP incorporates these into a formal upgrading trigger process

15. NO YES LWMP Upgrading Trigger Process Define and evaluate risk in consultation with Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks & Environment Canada Discharge(s) meets Water Quality Objectives and other established criteria Assess options, costs, and benefits Ongoing Review by Environmental Monitoring Committee Monitoring Actions District Board to select appropriate responses in consultation with Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks & Environment Canada

16. Sources Products & Pre-disposal Influent Collection Treatment Release Receiving Environment Air Atmosphere Surface Water Effluent Re-use Solid Land Municipal Wastewater Collection and Treatment System

17. Treatment Plants

18. Treatment Plants

19. Treatment Plants • Established base level of treatment • Secondary to river • Primary to marine • Upgrading based on environmental need and triggers • Addendum No. 1 clarifies growth-driven upgrading at Iona and Lions Gate

20. Recommendations - WWTPs • Base expansions for • growth, renewal, and substantial compliance • Investigate and monitor high loading sources • Assess copper reductions via water treatment • Evaluate U.V. at Annacis, Lulu, Northwest Langley • Monitor conditions and re-examine issues

21. Source and Demand Management

22. Source Management • Why: • Protect workers, infrastructure, WWTP processes • Improve biosolids quality • Stretch capacity of existing systems • Reduce effect on the environment • Sectors: • Industrial • Commercial & institutional • Residential

23. Source and Demand Management Emphasis on Pollution Prevention Control of Toxic Substances Discharged to Sewer Consistent with Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA 1999)

24. Reduction at the Source Substance Prohibition Sector Control Programs Pollution Prevention Local Limits Methodology Sewer Use By-law Source Control Water Conservation Public Education Pollutant Reduction

25. Promotion of water conservation Eliminate stormwater discharges to sanitary sewers GVWD program to reduce copper levels Education programs targeting green buildings, sustainable communities, residential, commercial and institutional practices Source and Demand Management

26. Residuals Management • The beneficial reuse of biosolids

27. Recycled Biosolids by Market Sector in 2000

28. Environmental Management

29. Environmental Management • Designated WLAP water use protection is paramount • A receiving environment science-based approach • A formal process to determine upgrading needs • A standing multi-agency Environmental Monitoring Committee

30. GVRD’s LWMP Environmental Management Program • Receiving environment effects monitoring • Discharge characterization • Ambient monitoring • Risk assessments • Options evaluation

31. EMP Monitoring Components • WWTPs (5 Plants) - monitor effluent & receiving environment • CSOs (50) • Recreational beaches (32 beaches with 120 sites) • Stormwater (130 watersheds) • Regional monitoring • Municipal monitoring programs

32. Treatment Plants Receiving Environment Effects Monitoring • Understanding the fate of discharges

33. GVRD’s LWMP Receiving Environment Monitoring • water and sediment chemistry • benthic invertebrate community • acute and chronic toxicity • bioaccumulation & biomagnification • habitat impairment & community alteration

34. Detailed Benthic Infaunal Analysis

35. Receiving Environment Investigations • Reviewed by Environmental Monitoring Committee • Detailed environmental fate and effect studies • Long-term monitoring programs • All receiving waterways in the region

36. LWMP Summary • A long term commitment to sustainable wastewater management • Action plans to address all identified issues • Formally reviewed on a five-year basis • Coordinated with other agencies including using BIEAP/FREMP as a senior level clearing house