Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant

Stakeholder meeting (Birds & lagoons)

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Metro Vancouver

4730 Kingsway, Burnaby BC

PROJECT MANAGER, POLICY, PLANNING & ANALYSISMartin Clarke

April 4, 2019

Iona Island Wastewater Treatment PlantPROJECT DEFINITION PHASE

1

Iona Island Secondary WWTP Regulatory Drivers

• Metro Vancouver’s Integrated LiquidWaste and Resource Management Plan

• Government of Canada’s WastewaterSystems Effluent Regulations

3

Metro Vancouver

Wastewater Treatment

Plants

4

VancouverSewerage

Area

Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond,

UBC, UEL, Squamish Nation &

Musqueam Indian Band

N

Iona Island WWTP

Iona Island WWTPProject Phases & Timeline

2020

Iona Island Secondary WWTP Project Goals

Secondary Wastewater Treatment

Resource Recovery

Community and Park Integration

The Project Definition Phase DeliverableA report that will:

• Provide a conceptual design

• Provide a project schedule for detailed design andconstruction

• Provide a detailed design and construction cost-estimate

• Recommend procurement method(s)

9

Integrative Design Process

10

Integrative Design Process (IDP)

Iona Lagoon Decommissioning

Dave KeeneyPROJECT ENGINEER

Houston MarshRESIDUALS MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS

Iona Lagoon Stakeholder Meeting April 4, 2019

2

Lagoon Cleaning

LagoonsDrying Beds

3

Excavate biosolids from lagoon

4

Transport biosolids from lagoon to drying beds

LagoonsDrying Beds

5

Timeline - Lagoon cleaning

2019 to 2021

2022 to 2023

Until 2023

Offsite

6

Lagoon Dredging/Dewatering

Lagoons

Centrifuges

Offsite

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Lagoon Dredging

8

2019 to 20202021 to 2022

Timeline - Lagoon dewateringOffsite

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Overall Timeline

Period Activity Access Restrictions Lagoon StatusFull Empty

Summer 2019 SW Lagoon Cleaning Intermittent closure of lagoon area

NE, NW, SE

SW

Winter 2019-2020 NE Lagoon Dredging None NE, NW, SE

SW

Summer 2020 SW Lagoon CleaningNE Lagoon Dredging

Intermittent closure of lagoon area

NE, NW, SE

SW

Summer 2021 SW Lagoon CleaningNW Lagoon Dredging

Intermittent closure of lagoon area

NW, SE SW, NE

Summer 2022 SE Lagoon CleaningNW Lagoon Dredging

Partial closure of lagoon area

NW SW, SE, NE

Summer 2023 SE Lagoon CleaningNW Lagoon Dredging

Partial closure of lagoon area

None SW, SE, NE, NW

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Questions?

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Land dry the biosolids

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Land dry the biosolids

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Land dry the biosolids

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Remove dried biosolids

Iona Island WWTP

Ecological Systems and Opportunities

April 2019

Nick Page | Raincoast Applied Ecology

Project planning: how do we incorporate ecological values and issues?

1. Identifying regulatory issues: Fisheries Act, Species at RiskAct, Wildlife Act, Migratory Bird Convention Act, WaterSustainability Act.

2. Identifying important habitats or values that may not bespecifically addressed by regulation: rare ecologicalcommunities, freshwater wetlands, etc.

3. Identifying opportunities for creating or enhancing ecologicalvalues: from restoring ecological processes/systems to small-scale habitat improvements.

4. Identifying information gaps: Western painted turtle? Highwater line? Barn swallows nesting?

5. Listening to the community: sources of information,concerns, ideas.

Iona Island: summary of ecological values1. Iona Island is at the intersection of freshwater, marine, and

terrestrial ecosystems: intertidal marshes, mudflats,freshwater ponds, and coastal sand ecosystems.

2. River management and industrial use has disruptedecological processes but also created unique / novelecosystems.

3. Iona Island provides important habitat for migratory birds(freshwater & marine wetlands, shrub thickets, grasslands,forest).

4. Iona Island provides unique opportunities for to restorehabitat connectivity and ecological processes in the FraserEstuary.

5. Access to nature (birding) and recreation are also importantcultural values at Iona Island.

Historical vegetation (1860s) of the Iona Island area (from North et al., 1977). The light green colour (“g”) was indicated in the legend as ‘prairie: grasses’.

Iona Island is a novel and highly modified landscapecreated by river dredging and industrial activities

1952 Image

WWTP

Metro Vancouver’s Sensitive Ecosystem Inventory (SEI)

Interpreted ecological value (relative) of the Sensitive Ecosystems in Iona Beach Regional Park. All coloured areas are Sensitive Ecosystems; darker colours represent ecosystems of higher ecological value or sensitivity (map provided by Metro Vancouver Parks).

Iona Island is surrounded by critical intertidal habitats: marshes, mudflats, and tidal channels

McDonald Slough

WWTP

Musqueam Marsh

North Arm Jetty

(interpreted)

LiDAR-based topographic mapping (0.5 m contours)

Mapping high water line and fish habitat along the north edge of McDonald Slough

Coastal sand ecosystems are provincially rare andsupport species and ecological communities at risk

Coastal sand ecosystems are provincially rare andsupport species and ecological communities at risk

Habitat restoration by Metro Vancouver Parks hassubstantially increased sparsely-vegetated coastalsand ecosystem habitats

Freshwater wetlands and sludge lagoons are important habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, and other birds in the Fraser estuary

Sludge Lagoons

Sludge lagoons provide valuable habitat for waterfowl, waders, and other bird species

WildResearch’s Iona Island Bird Obervatory is a criticalpart of bird research and the birding community at Iona

Iona Island is a regional hot spot for birding and brings local and international visitors to the park

*

Creating or enhancing coastal sand ecosystems

Increasing freshwater inflows to “IonaBay” / interjetty area

Restoring habitat connectivity andecosytem processes

Replenishing sediment and adaptingto sea level rise

Opportunities for enhancing ecological valuesand processes

Questions?

Nick Page | Raincoast Applied EcologyEmail. nick@raincoastappliedecology.caPhone: (604) 724-4845