The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) announced that the Grand Bend Area Wastewater Treatment Facility, located in Ontario on the shoreline of Lake Huron, earned the Envision sustainable infrastructure rating system’s Platinum award. This project is the first ISI Envision verification in Canada, and first wastewater facility to be ISI Envision-verified in North America.
For the project, the municipalities of Lambton Shores and South Huron commissioned global design firm Stantec to convert one of four existing lagoons into an extended aeration mechanical treatment facility and wetland nature reserve. The facility prevents effluent discharges from adversely impacting surface and groundwater quality and allows for responsible community development. Stantec used the ISI Envision framework during the design to integrate sustainable features throughout the facility.
Key sustainable features include a constructed wetland to support native wildlife species and further buffer treated effluent, flexible design that makes the facility responsive to changing sewage flows, reduced construction and operational costs through a focus on efficiency, constructing the project within the boundaries of the original facility’s footprint to protect prime farmland, and trails and interpretive signage to encourage community visitors.
“The Grand Bend Area Wastewater Treatment Facility achieved the Platinum award, the highest ISI Envision verification level, because it meets the needs and sustainability goals of stakeholders,” said ISI President and CEO William Bertera. “This is the first ISI Envision-verified project in Canada, and both the Stantec project team and municipalities of Lambton and South Huron made significant public commitments to the principles of sustainability. They involved the community on key project issues and concerns, and made sustainable design choices to reduce negative impacts.”
Source: American Public Works Assn.
