JUNE 2018

STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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CSA GROUP RESEARCH

In order to encourage the use of consensus-based standards solutions to promote safety and encourage innovation, CSA Group supports and conducts research in areas that address new or emerging industries, as well as topics and issues that impact a broad base of current and potential stakeholders. The output of our research programs will support the development of future standards solutions, provide interim guidance to industries on the development and adoption of new technologies, and help to demonstrate our on-going commitment to building a better, safer, more sustainable world.

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AUTHORShaun Gill, Chief Structural Engineer, Water, Stantec Consulting Ltd.

(Uthaya) M. Uthayakumar, Senior Principal Engineer, Geotechnical, Stantec Consulting Ltd.

Oon-Soo Ooi, Senior Concrete Specialist, Stantec Consulting Ltd.

ADVISORY PANELJohn Elliot, Executive Director, Chief Structural Engineer, J.L. Richards & Associates Limited

Matt Dalkie, Technical Services Engineer, Lafarge Canada Inc.

Reza Kianoush, Professor, Civil Engineering, Ryerson University

Michael Snow, Principal, Sr. Geotech Engineer, Infrastructure & P3/DB Lead, Golder Associates Ltd.

Larisa Logan, Project Manager, Construction and Infrastructure Standards, CSA Group

Wastewater treatment plant structures are subjected to more complicated loads, more severe exposure conditions,

and more restrictive serviceability requirements than ordinary building structures. The quality of materials and

construction for wastewater treatment plants are normally higher than the requirements for ordinary building structures

to satisfy public health and safety concerns. Wastewater treatment plants need to be designed and detailed with

considerable attention to detail because of their service requirements. There are currently gaps in guidance for

structural engineering, construction, commissioning, and maintenance of wastewater treatment facilities. The present

structural engineering methodology requires interpretation of non-Canadian standards in a Canadian setting, which

might lead to unsafe assumptions in compatibility of design and analysis factors.

The objective of the project was to set out draft provisions for a new CSA standard on Structural Design of Wastewater

Treatment Plants. The scope includes requirements and guidance on the design, material selection, and construction

of structural elements within a wastewater treatment plant, including buildings and tanks for conveying, storing, or

treating liquid or other materials such as solid wastes, from the point effluent enters the plant to the point of its exit. It

excludes inflow and outfall structures. Additional requirements are referenced from ACI 350 (American Concrete

Institute) and other codes, specific to the design of wastewater treatment plants, which are not covered under current

CSA standards and the National Building Code of Canada. The draft provisions address loadings, analysis and design

procedures, and recommendations to achieve liquid tightness of tank structures, joint detailing recommendations,

special construction considerations, foundation requirements, concrete requirements, description of the general

processes of a wastewater treatment plant, joint detail examples, and design basis comparisons of code documents.

The results of the project will be used by the CSA S900 Technical Committee on Wastewater Treatment Plant Design

and Construction to further develop the provisions for the new standard on Structural Design of Wastewater Treatment

Plants. The new standard is anticipated to be a foundational publication of the CSA Wastewater Treatment Plant

Standards Program. The objective of the Program is to develop consistency in engineering and construction

methodology, which would help to achieve benefits including, but not limited to, enabling more cost-effective design

and construction, minimizing jurisdiction-specific regulation development, and reducing overall risk to owners.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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