REPORT
TO COMMITTEE(S) OF COUNCIL
INTERNAL
ROUTING CHECKLIST
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APPLICANT:
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Report to / Rapport au:
Planning and Environment Committee
Comité de l'urbanisme et de l'environnement
and Council / et au Conseil
23 June 2009 / le 23 juin 2009
Submitted by / Soumis par: Nancy Schepers, Deputy City Manager/Directrice municipale adjointe
Infrastructure Services and Community
Sustainability/Services
d’infrastructure et Viabilité des collectivités
Contact
Person / Personne ressource: Dixon Weir, General Manager / Directeur général
Environmental Services / Services environnementaux
613-580-2424,
x22002, Dixon.Weir@ottawa.ca
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Ref N°:
ACS2009 |
SUBJECT: Ottawa river water quality assessment
OBJET : ÉVALUATION
DE LA QUALITÉ DE L’EAU DE LA RIVIÈRE DES OUTAOUAISTO
BE TRANSLATED
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That
Council and Committee receive this report for information and direct staff to :That
Planning and Environment Committee recommend Council:
1.
Receive
this report for information;
2.
Direct
that the draft Short-Term Integrated Protection Plan to be tabled for public
consultation and that staff report back to Council this fall for budget
deliberations; and
3.
Direct
that a Long-Term Integrated Protection Plan be developed thereafter.
1.Undertake the public consultation assignment as
outlined in this report and report back to Council.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité de l’urbanisme et de l’environnement
recommande au Conseil :
1.
de
prendre connaissance du présent rapport;
2.
d’enjoindre
le personnel de déposer
le Plan intégré provisoire de protection à court terme aux fins des
consultations publiques et de faire rapport au Conseil cet automne en vue des
délibérations budgétaires;
et
3.
de
demander qu’un Plan intégré de protection à long terme soit élaboré par la
suite.
TO BE
TRANSLATED
1.
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
A
healthy environment is vital for quality of life and the longer-term
sustainability of communities. A number
of strategies and initiatives to reduce pollution, fulfill objectives
established to achieve environmental and public health benefits, and provide a
long-term plan to guide the management of the health of urban streams and
rivers are currently in various stages of implementation.
An
Integrated Protection Plan for the Ottawa River is proposed
to address the impacts of discharges flowing into
the river. The objectives of this plan
would be as follows: achieve and
sustain compliance with regulatory requirements; optimize recreational use and
economic development of the River; and maintain a healthy aquatic
ecosystem. In support of these
objectives, a water quality model of the Ottawa River has been developed and
calibrated with data from both sides of the river, including: twenty-nine Combined
Sewer Overflows (CSOs),
twenty-eight storm outfalls, twenty-two tributaries, and two Wastewater
Treatment Plants (WWTP). Forty sources
were defined along the Ottawa River
and thirty-one in Gatineau. The
river model will serve as a decision support tool to meet the plan objectives.
The main sources of wastewater discharges to the Ottawa
River from the City are Combined
Sewer Overflows (CSOs),
stormwater run-off entering diredirectly, from storm sewers andor
indirectly through tributary creeks and rivers, and treated final effluent
discharged from the Robert O. Pickard Environmental
Centre (Pickard Centre). CSOs contribute the largest loadings of bacteria to the river
from these sources; stormwater is the largest source of other contaminants,
including metals. A number of initiatives
to: reduce pollution, achieve
environmental and public health benefits, and provide a long-term plan to guide
the management of the health of urban streams and rivers are currently underway
in various stages of implementation.
Coordination of these initiatives is recommended so that effective use
of funds is realized. Several
elements in many of these inter-departmental initiatives overlap.
An Integrated Protection Plan for the Ottawa River
is needed to address the impacts of discharges flowing into the river. The objectives of this plan would be as
follows: achieve and sustain compliance
with regulatory requirements; optimize recreational use and economic
development of the River; and maintain a healthy aquatic ecosystem. In support of these objectives, a water
quality model of the Ottawa River has been developed and calibrated with data
from both sides of the river, including: twenty nine CSOs, twenty eight storm
outfalls, twenty two tributaries, and two Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP). Forty sources were defined along the river
Ottawa and thirty-one in Gatineau. The river model will serve as a decision
support tool to meet the plan objectives.
Preliminary
model runs indicate that Ottawa and Gatineau
CSOs, and the Gatineau WWTP currently contribute 85% of the additional
loading of E.coli beyond
natural occurring levels to
the Ottawa River during storm events.
Outside of the discharge of CSOs, the largest impacts
to Petrie Island water quality during regular storm events
result from the discharges from GreenGreen
Creek, Voyageur Creek,
and Bilberry Creek, due in large part, to their proximity and the inherent
nature of urban tributaries. The
River Model predicted iImplementation
of Real Time Control will reduce the volume of CSOs to a
such a level that stormwater will
becomes
a the
dominant source of bacterial loading at Petrie Island. The modelingmodelling
exercise also demonstrates that localized
storage and discharge to
the sewer system isis
a more effective (and less costly) tool to deal with CSOs than sewer separation. At
the Pickard Centre, recommendations regarding enhanced ammonia removal
are pending the assessment of additional monitoring information expected to be
obtained as part of the 2009 Environmental Effects Monitoring Program.
Use
of the model has helped clarify the most significant impacts on the Ottawa
River, and assisted in the initial identification of remedial priorities. Although some findings were different than
expected, (namely the comparative impact of different inputs) the good news is that
many existing initiatives to deal with these issues are currently in
place. In some cases, the completion
of the current strategy status
quo may may be sufficient; in others, increased
resources or improved implementation mechanisms
and inter-departmental cooperation may be required. While sources of bacterial pollution are now
better understood, both the modelling
exercise and investigation into existing water protection initiatives bring
forward the larger questions of what constitutes a “healthy” water-body, and whether or not how
best to balance the investments in the protection of the Ottawa River with the
protection of the 4,500 km of streams and rivers in the rest of the Citythe investments in the protection of the Ottawa
River are
in balance with
the protection of
the 4,500 km of streams and rivers in the rest of the City.
The
Draft Integrated Protection Plan for the Ottawa River recommends a staged
approach to dealing
with water pollutionmaintaining
and protecting the Ottawa River.
The first stage consists of the implementation of the final steps
required to address the discharge of CSOs to the Ottawa River and to improve
water quality in the river for body -contact recreation. The second stage recognizes that once public
health and regulatory requirements are met, there is no clear-cut solution on
how best to proceed with the protection of the Ottawa River, given the
sometimes conflicting ecological, economic,
and social priorities of stakeholders. There
may be a public desire to go beyond the achievement of regulatory compliance
with respect to the protection of the Ottawa River. The long-term consequences of the resolution of these
issues impact community sustainability and require that any decisions in this
regard be informed by public consultation.
These solutions will be developed as part of the second stage of the
longer term Integrated Protection Plan. A summary of the projects proposed in the
first stage of the plan is as follows:
Table 1. Draft Short-Term Integrated Protection
Plan for the Ottawa River
|
Preferred
Alternatives for the |
Estimated
Cost |
Estimated
Completion |
|
CSO
Reduction |
|
|
|
Implementation
of Real Time Controls |
$30M |
Spring
2010 |
|
CSO
Storage for Ultimate Combined Sewer Area |
$45M |
Fall
2013 |
|
Sewer
Separation outside Ultimate Combined Sewer Area * |
$37.5M |
Fall
2011 |
|
Critical
CSO and Storm Outfall Monitoring |
$5M |
Summer
2010 |
|
Development
of the Wet Weather Infrastructure Management Plan |
$0.14M |
December
2009 |
|
Implementation
of the Wet Weather Infrastructure Management Plan |
$2M |
January
2012 |
|
Installation
of Floatable Traps in Combined Sewer Area Catch Basins |
$1.8M |
December
2009 |
|
Review
of Sewer Interconnections |
$0.75M |
Fall
2010 |
|
Stormwater
Management * |
|
|
|
Pinecrest
Creek/Westboro SWM Retrofit Plan |
$0.25M |
Fall
of 2010 |
|
Eastern
Subwatersheds SWM Retrofit Plan |
$0.75M |
Spring
2012 |
|
Implementation of SWM retrofit projects on a
priority basis for Pinecrest Creek and Eastern Subwatersheds |
$72M |
Spring 2023 |
|
Wastewater Treatment Plant Enhancements |
|
|
|
De-chlorination of Pickard Centre Effluent |
$7M |
December 2010 |
|
Environmental Management |
|
|
|
Development of Water Environment Strategy |
$1M |
Summer 2011 |
|
Develop and Implement an Environmental Management
System |
$0.15M |
2010 |
|
Continued updating of computer model to assist
with prioritization |
$0.20M |
Ongoing |
|
Continued monitoring and source control programs
and activities |
$0.26M |
Ongoing |
|
TOTAL COST
for
SHORT-TERM PLAN |
$203.8M |
|
*
Pertains only to projects identified for the Short-Term Integrated Protection
Plan.
Table
1. Draft Short Term Protection Plan for the Ottawa River
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It
is’s important to note that the Draft
Short- Term
Integrated Protection Plan does not include
the complete elimination of CSOs. It is
estimated that complete elimination of CSOs
through sewer separation alone,
would involve construction of up to almost 300 300
kilometres of sewers and removal of foundation drain connections from up
to 80,000 private homes and buildings by replacement of service laterals or
installation of sump pumps. It
would take over 50 50
years of highly disruptive work, and would cost in excess of of
$2 2
billion, with minimal resulting environmental benefit. The complete elimination of CSOs is not
supported by the river model analysis.
The
draftDraft
Short- Term
Integrated Protection Plan, and evaluation
criteria for future initiatives will be brought forward for public consultation
over the fall months of 2009. The goals
of this consultation are to: engage
the public; obtain feedback on the proposed strategy and evaluation criteria
for future works;
and establish environmental protection goals for the second stage of the Integrated
Protection Plan’s implementation.
The
second stage of the plan proposes a systematic and comprehensive evaluation of
future projects based on criteria supported by public consultation, a public
education and outreach campaign; monitoring and reporting to assess the success
of the plan; and continuous improvement, with revisions as necessary, based on
observed results. The public input on
the recommended approach and evaluation criteria for the second stage of the
plan, will be summarized and brought forward to Council in
earlyat a later date
2010.
RÉSUMÉ
Un
environnement sain est vital pour la qualité de vie et la viabilité à plus long
terme des communautés. Un
certain nombre de stratégies et d’initiatives visant à réduire la pollution,
satisfaire aux objectifs en vue d’obtenir des bienfaits pour l’environnement et
la santé publique et prévoir un plan à long terme en vue de guider la gestion
de la santé des ruisseaux rivières et cours d’eau urbains sont actuellement à
diverses étapes de mise en œuvre.
Afin
de faire face aux conséquences des déversements dans la rivière, il est
nécessaire de mettre en œuvre un plan de protection intégré de la rivière des
Outaouais, dont les objectifs seraient les suivants : assurer
et maintenir la conformité avec les exigences réglementaires, optimiser
l’utilisation récréative et le développement économique de la rivière et
maintenir un écosystème aquatique sain. À l’appui de ces objectifs, un modèle de
qualité de l’eau de la rivière des Outaouais a été élaboré et étalonné au moyen
de données provenant des deux berges de la rivière, y compris 29 déversoirs
d’eau excédentaire (DEE), 28 exutoires d’eau pluviale, 22 affluents et deux
usines de traitement des eaux usées (UTEU).
Quarante sources ont été désignées le long de la rivière des Outaouais
et 31 à Gatineau. Le
modèle de la rivière servira d’outil d’appui à la prise de décision afin de
répondre aux objectifs du plan.
Les
principales sources de déversement des eaux usées dans la rivière des Outaouais
provenant de la ville sont les DEE, le déversement direct des eaux pluviales
provenant des égouts ou indirect par le biais des affluents et la décharge des
effluents terminaux du Centre environnemental Robert O. Pickard (Centre
Pickard). De
toutes ces sources, ce sont les DEE qui déversent les plus importantes charges
de bactéries dans la rivière; les eaux pluviales constituent la plus importante
source d’autres contaminants, y compris le métal. Un
certain nombre d’initiatives visant à réduire la pollution, obtenir des
bienfaits pour l’environnement et la santé publique et prévoir un plan à long
terme en vue de guider la gestion de la santé des rivières et cours d’eau
urbains sont actuellement à diverses étapes de mise en œuvre. Il
est recommandé de coordonner ces initiatives afin d’obtenir une utilisation
efficace des fonds.
Selon
les résultats préliminaires du modèle, on peut dire qu’en général, les DEE
d’Ottawa et de Gatineau et l’UTEU de Gatineau déversent actuellement 85 % de la
charge supplémentaire d’E.coli supérieure au niveau naturel dans la rivière des
Outaouais pendant les orages. En
dehors des décharges de DEE, les pires effets sur la qualité de l’eau de l’île
Petrie pendant les orages réguliers proviennent des écoulements du ruisseau
Green, du ruisseau Voyageur et du ruisseau Bilberry, ce qui est dû en grande
partie à leur proximité et à la nature inhérente des affluents urbains. Ainsi,
la mise en œuvre prévue du contrôle en temps réel du modèle de la rivière
permettra la réduction des DEE à un niveau tel que les eaux pluviales
deviendront la source dominante de charges bactériennes à l’île Petrie. L’exercice
de modélisation démontre également que le stockage localisé avec déversement
dans le réseau d’égout est un outil plus efficace (et moins cher) pour faire
face aux DEE que la séparation des égouts. Au
Centre Pickard, les recommandations quant à l’amélioration du retrait de
l’ammoniac sont en attente de l’évaluation de l’information de contrôle
supplémentaire qui devrait être obtenue dans le cadre de l’étude de suivi des
effets sur l’environnement de 2009.
L’utilisation
du modèle a aidé à reconnaître les pires conséquences pour la rivière des
Outaouais et a permis, dans un premier temps, de désigner les priorités
d’assainissement. Bien
que certaines conclusions aient été différentes de ce à quoi on s’attendait (à
savoir les répercussions comparatives des différents afflux), on est heureux de
se rendre compte que bon nombre des initiatives visant à régler ces problèmes
sont actuellement en vigueur. Dans
certains cas, le déploiement de la stratégie actuelle peut suffire, dans
d’autres, il faudra sans doute faire appel à des ressources supplémentaires ou
à des mécanismes de mise en œuvre améliorés. S’il
est vrai que les sources de pollution bactérienne sont mieux comprises,
l’exercice de modélisation et l’examen des initiatives actuelles de protection
des eaux soulèvent les questions plus vastes relativement à ce que constitue un
cours d’eau « sain » et à la manière de mieux équilibrer les
investissements dans la protection de la rivière des Outaouais et dans la
protection des 4 500 km de cours d’eau et rivières du reste de la ville.
Dans
le plan provisoire de protection intégrée de la rivière des Outaouais, on
recommande une approche échelonnée afin de préserver et de protéger la rivière
des Outaouais. La
première phase porte sur la mise en œuvre des étapes finales nécessaires pour
régler le problème des décharges des DEE dans la rivière des Outaouais et
améliorer la qualité de l’eau pour les activités récréatives de contact
corporel. La
deuxième étape reconnaît qu’une fois que l’on a respecté les exigences de santé
publique et de réglementation, il n’y a pas de solution précise quant à la
meilleure façon de protéger la rivière des Outaouais, étant donné les priorités
quelquefois conflictuelles des intervenants en matière d’écologie, d’économie
et de société. Le
public pourrait souhaiter de faire plus que de satisfaire aux exigences
réglementaires en ce qui a trait à la protection de la rivière des Outaouais. Les
conséquences à long terme de la solution des problèmes ont des répercussions
sur la viabilité de la communauté et nécessitent que toute décision prise à cet
effet s’appuie sur les résultats des consultations du public. Les
solutions envisagées seront élaborées dans le cadre de la deuxième phase du
plan intégré de protection à plus long terme. Le
tableau suivant donne un sommaire des projets proposés au cours de la première
phase du plan :
Tableau 1.
Plan intégré provisoire de protection à court terme pour la rivière des
Outaouais
|
Solutions
de rechange privilégiées pour |
Coût
estimatif |
Date
d’achèvement prévue |
|
Réduction
des décharges des DEE |
|
|
|
Mise
en oeuvre des contrôles en temps réel |
30M$ |
Printemps 2010 |
|
Stockage
dans les DEE |
45M$ |
Automne 2012 |
|
Séparation
des égouts à l’extérieur de UCSA* |
37,5M$ |
Automne 2011 |
|
Surveillance
des émissaires cruciaux de DEE et d’orages |
5M$ |
Été 2010 |
|
Élaboration
du plan de gestion de l’infrastructure en période de précipitation |
0,14M$ |
Décembre 2009 |
|
Mise
en oeuvre du plan de gestion des infrastructures en période de précipitation |
2M$ |
Janvier 2012 |
|
Installation
de capteurs flottants dans les puisards de zones de collecte combinées |
1,8M$ |
Décembre 2009 |
|
Examen
des interconnexions d’égouts |
0,75M$ |
Automne 2009 |
|
Gestion des eaux pluviales
* |
|
|
|
Plan de rattrapage GEP du ruisseau
Pinecrest/Westboro |
0,25M$ |
Automne 2010 |
|
Plan
de rattrapage GEP des sous-bassins hydrographiques de l’est |
0,75M$ |
Printemps 2012 |
|
Mise
en oeuvre des projets de rattrapage de GEP selon un plan prioritaire dans le
ruisseau Pinecrest et les sous-bassins hydrographiques |
72M$ |
Printemps 2023 |
|
Amélioration
des usines de traitement des eaux usées |
|
|
|
Déchloration
de l’effluent du Centre Pickard |
7M$ |
Décembre 2010 |
|
Gestion
de l’environnement |
|
|
|
Achèvement
de la stratégie du milieu aquatique |
1M$ |
Été 2011 |
|
Élaboration
et mise en oeuvre d’un système de gestion de l’environnement |
0,15M$ |
2010 |
|
Mise
à jour en cours du modèle informatisé afin d’aider à établir les priorités |
0,20M$ |
En
cours |
|
Programmes
et activités en cours de surveillance et de contrôle des sources |
0,26M$ |
En
cours |
|
COÛT
TOTAL À COURT TERME |
203,8M$ |
|
*
Vise seulement les projets désignés dans le cadre du Plan intégré de protection
à court terme.
Il
est important de noter que le plan intégré provisoire de protection à court
terme ne comprend pas l’élimination des DEE. On
estime que l’élimination complète des DEE par seulement la séparation des
égouts nécessite l’aménagement de presque 300 km d’égouts et l’enlèvement
de raccordements de drains de fondation de près de 80 000 résidences
privées et immeubles au moyen du remplacement de conduites secondaires ou de
l’installation de pompes de puisards. Il
faudrait plus de 50 ans de travaux très perturbateurs et cela coûterait
plus de 2 milliards de dollars et donnerait des bienfaits plutôt minimes
pour l’environnement. L’élimination complète des DEE n’est
pas non plus soutenue par l’analyse du modèle de rivière.
Le
plan intégré provisoire de protection à court terme et les critères d’évaluation
pour les futures initiatives seront soumis à la consultation du public pendant
les mois de l’automne 2009. Cette
consultation a pour objet d’engager le public, obtenir une rétroaction sur la
stratégie et les critères d’évaluation proposés pour les travaux subséquents et
établir des objectifs de protection de l’environnement pour la deuxième phase
de la mise en œuvre du plan intégré de protection.
La
deuxième phase du plan porte sur une évaluation systématique et globale des
futurs projets en fonction de critères appuyés sur les résultats de la
consultation du public, une campagne de renseignements et de sensibilisation du
public, la surveillance et la rédaction de rapports afin d’évaluer le succès du
plan, et l’amélioration constante, ainsi que les révisions nécessaires, en
fonction des résultats observés. Les
commentaires du public au sujet de l’approche recommandée et des critères
d’évaluation, pour les besoins de la deuxième phase du plan, seront résumés et
présentés au conseil à titre de renseignements pour le budget 2010.
TO BE TRANSLATED.
BACKGROUND
This
report serves to update Council on the finalization of the Ottawa River Water
Quality Model and the assessments used to date in the identification of
protection strategies. It also provides
information on initiatives currently underway, describes evaluation criteria
for future works,
and proposes a consultation strategy to obtain input from the residents of the
City of Ottawa and other stakeholders, prior to the finalization of a comprehensive Integrated Protection Plan for the
Ottawa River
in early 2010.
A previous
report ACS2008-PWS-WWS-0017
– Water Quality ModelingModelling of the
Ottawa River, which outlined the lack of
a strong understanding of the inputs to the Ottawa River and difficulties involved
in evaluating the fate and potential downstream impacts was brought forward to
Planning and Environment Committee on 24 June 2008. The report summarized the potential uses of hydrological modelingmodelling
as a tool to evaluate and assess the environmental benefits of water quality
initiatives currently underway in the City; and to support the decision-making
process to ensure that funds are spent in a manner to achieve the greatest
benefit with respect to the alleviation of river pollution.
The Water Quality Modeling report was approved by
Council on 07 July 2008, with additional motions that staff return to Planning
and Environment Committee in the last quarter of 2008 with an interim scope
report. ThisIn
December 2008, staff returned to Committee with report, ACS2008-ICS-WWS-0021
– Ottawa River Water Quality Assessment Interim Report.
, was brought forward to Planning and Environment
Committee on 09 December 2008. It
provided an update on the progress of the Ottawa River water quality initiatives
and provided preliminary information onf the costs and processes associated
with the elimination of all overflow to water bodies from the combined sewer
area.
Since that time,
the water quality model has been finalized and the relative impacts of the
Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) and effects of Real Time Control (RTC)
modeled. Creeks, facilities, and
stormwater inputs from both sides of the river have also been added to the
model, and their relative impacts quantified and assessed. Staff have continued to meet with the
National Capital Commission and la
Ville de Gatineaustakeholders,
both individually and through the Tripartite Committee., and a draft evaluation criteria has been developed
to provide guidance in the preparation of a capital project program to protect
the Ottawa River.
DISCUSSION
DISCUSSION
A healthy environment is vital
for quality of life and the longer-term sustainability of communities. The City of Ottawa Growth Management Plan
(Ottawa 20/20) recognizes and endorses this idea. One of Ottawa 20/20’s seven guiding principles is “A Green and
Environmentally Sensitive City”, and one of the goals under this
principle is that of clean water. In
support of this, the Environmental Strategy establishes the City’s commitments
to demonstrate and promote leadership in environmental stewardship and to take
an ecosystem approach to the protection of aquatic systems. It also addresses the need to reduce the
City’s global environmental impact.
The main
sources of wastewater discharges water
environment impact to the Ottawa River from the City are Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), stormwater run-off entering
directly from storm sewers orand indirectly through tributary
creeks and rivers, and treated final effluent discharged from the Pickard
Centre. A number of strategies and
initiatives to reduce pollution, fulfill objectives established to achieve
environmental and public health benefits, and provide a long-term plan to guide
the management of the health of urban streams and rivers are currently in
various stages of implementation.
Existing strategies and initiatives that support this are described
below in more detail. It should also be
noted that these activities are in line with the strategic priorities and
opportunities identified
through of the Planning and Environment Committee’s for
2009-2010
Strategic Planning Session; namely, building community trust and
confidence, and recognizing the importance of the Ottawa River and the need to
provide long-term protection of the City’s watersheds.
EXISTING
STRATEGIES AND PLANS
Combined Sewer
Area Pollution Prevention and Control Plan (PPCP)
The
City of Ottawa’s PPCP is required to meet the conditions of the Ministry of the
Environment (MOE) Procedure F-5-5 (MOE, undated). It outlines the nature, cause and extent of pollution problems;
examines alternatives; recommends remedial measures to the problems; and presents an implementation plan
for the recommended measures. In short,
it provides recommendations and makes commitments to reduce pollution caused by
the Combined Sewer Area to fulfill the reduction objectives outlined in
Procedure F-5-5, thereby achieving environmental and public health benefits.
One of the options identified in the plan and currently under implementation is Real Time Control (RTC) of combined sewers flow and overflows. RTC will monitor capacity in the sewer system to ensure the maximum capture of combined sewer flows before any overflows occur. It is anticipated that new facilities commissioned in 2009 will dramatically decrease the volume of CSOs discharged to the Ottawa River and be sufficient to significantly exceed the 90% of wet weather capture criterion stipulated in F-5-5. This is believed to be a first for municipalities in Ontario with CSOs.
Stormwater Management (SWM) Strategy
Treating stormwater presents a
significant challenge to the City, in particular in existing urbanized subwatershedsubwatersheds. While
sStormwater does not have the
same elevation elevated
of bacterial levels as CSOs, however,
there are hundreds of untreated stormwater outfalls to receiving waters
and other contaminants that require treatment.
The City of Ottawa has initiated the preparation of a SWM Strategy to
address this challenge. Its intent is
to provide a long-term plan to guide the safe and effective management of
stormwater runoff from urban and urbanizing areas while sustaining the health
of urban streams and rivers. The first
stage of work to develop the SWM Strategy was completed in the fall of 2006,
providing an assessment of existing conditions. Stage 2 is underway; SWM goals, objectives and policies have been
developed with the assistance of public consultation and were brought forward
to City Council in Report ACS2007-PTE-POL-37
– Stormwater Management Strategy Stage
2: Policies,
in September 2007. The Stormwater
Management Planning Guideline is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009.
To address the anticipated impacts of intensification, the
Official Plan (OP) and Infrastructure Master Plan (IMP) identify the need to
develop a City-wideCity-Wide
SWM Retrofit Master Plan for areas that developed with little or no SWM
controls. Specifically,
SWM retrofit refers to inserting a range of measures into established urban
areas with the aim of reducing wet weather pollutant loads, lessening
accelerated erosion rates, reducing flood risk, and promoting conditions for
improved aquatic habitat and recreational uses. This is the last and final stage of the Strategy, which will
prioritize a list of retrofit projects to address both existing problems and
mitigate the impacts of infill / redevelopment. Items considered in this plan include water quality, quantity,
stream rehabilitation and the effects of erosion.
Wet Weather Infrastructure Management Plan (WWIMP)
The WWIMP is focused on the development of strategic priorities for
managing wet weather flows within the wastewater and stormwater collection
systems. Its development is a result of
the 2006 Audit Report for the Wastewater and Drainage Services Division, which
noted that an overall “wet weather” management strategy is required to address
overall impacts on the City’s stormwater infrastructure and their receiving
streams as well as address the management of the sanitary sewer system, and
specifically infiltration and inflow into this system. The goal of the plan is to reduce, and
cost-effectively mitigate the adverse effects of wet weather flow on City
infrastructure and private property, as well as protect public health and the
environment in a timely and sustainable manner.
The specific objectives of the WWIMP are to: reduce threats to human health and
property damage from flooding; provide capacity for growth and intensification
for areas with infrastructure capacity restrictions;
and minimize adverse impacts on water quality in watercourses. As such, the plan encompasses wet weather
flow issues at various levels, therefore balancing both local and system-wide
issues.
Water Environment Protection Program
Surface water quality monitoring, and source control through the
application of the Sewer Use By-law, are both identified as water protection
initiatives in the City’s Environmental Strategy and the Corporate
Environmental Action Plan. Both of
these initiatives fall under the umbrella of the Water Environment Protection
Program (WEPP). WEPP is committed to
the protection and enhancement of Ottawa’s natural environment, public health
and safety, and the City infrastructure through
the comprehensive monitoring, assessment,
and reporting of the aquatic environment and regulation of discharges.
Key initiatives related to the Ottawa River’s health are the
Environmental Effects Monitoring Program, the Priority Outfall Monitoring
Program (“Search and Destroy”), and the Baseline Monitoring Program. The Sewer Use By-law also provides the legal
framework by which source control or remedial activities may be required to
prevent pollutants from entering local waterbodies, either directly, or through
the wastewater treatment plant which is not designed to treat certain types of
waste.
Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy
The Lower
Rideau Watershed Strategy was developed by a multi-agency task group to guide
the planning and delivery of watershed management by the City and partner
agencies. It encourages an “environment
first” approach to the watershed and supports regular monitoring and
reporting. The strategy’s main
objectives include:
· Protection of stream function and habitats in small tributaries; and
· Reduction of the amount of nutrients, such as phosphorous, in the water, as nutrients contribute to excessive weeds in the streams.
Water
Environment Strategy
The City’s Environmental Strategy identifies the
need to develop an overarching Water Environment Strategy to provide a
comprehensive view of how the City will maintain and enhance its healthy water
environment for today and future generations. The
Water Environment Strategy will provide an integrated framework for the various
programs and initiatives being undertaken across the city, both within the
rural and urban areas, to maintain and enhance the water environment. The
strategy will build upon the water protection policies within the Groundwater
Management Strategy, Official Plan, IMP, and Lower Rideau Watershed strategy
including the draft Integrated
Protection Plan for the Ottawa River
as outlined later in this report.
A report to will be brought forward to PEC in July
2009 regarding the refresh of the Environmental Strategy and will include
additional detail on the Water Environment Strategy.
A
report on
the refresh of the Environmental
Strategy is scheduled
to be presented to the Planning and Environment Committee subsequent to this
report. One of the components of this work is the
yet to be developed Water
Environment Strategy. As currently defined, the
Water Environment Strategy will connect closely with both the Groundwater
Management Strategy and IMP. It will
build upon water protection policies identified within these documents and the OP
by providing a comprehensive view of how the City will accomplish
a healthy water environment that supports natural processes and will help to
protect, restore and enhance the health of City rivers and streams for today
and for future generations.
Ottawa River
Water Quality Model
The Ottawa
River Water Quality Model was developed and calibrated with data from both
sides of the river, including: twenty nine CSOs, twenty- eight storm outfalls, twenty- two tributaries,
and two Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP).
Forty sources were defined along the river on the Ottawa side and
thirty-one in Gatineau. It is an
important, valuable and flexible decision support tool that will enable the
assessment of initiatives to improve water quality and assist in the
establishment of effective priorities and integrated improvement strategies.
In preparation of the development of the Draft Integrated Protection Plan, model runs have been used to evaluate impacts or relative benefits of a number of scenarios. Preliminary results of the estimation of bacterial loadings for those defined point sources are summarized in Tables 2 and 3, respectively.
Table
2. Summary of Relative E.coli
Loading Contributions to the Ottawa River (Sum
of Four Reference
Storm Events)
|
Source of E.coli |
Current Conditions |
2010-Post RTC |
2035-Post Separation (Gatineau Disinfection) |
|
Ottawa
CSOs |
51.8% |
22.0% |
25.1% |
|
Gatineau CSOs |
15.9% |
25.8% |
38.5% |
|
Gatineau WWTP |
17.9% |
28.9% |
0.2% |
|
Ottawa Tributaries |
10.3% |
16.7% |
25.3% |
|
Gatineau Tributaries |
2.0% |
3.2% |
4.8% |
|
Ottawa
Stormwater |
0.5% |
0.8% |
2.0% |
|
Gatineau
Stormwater |
1.4% |
2.2% |
3.5% |
|
Ottawa
WWTP |
0.2% |
0.4% |
0.5% |
|
Total
Load to Ottawa River |
8.53E+14 |
5.27E+14 |
3.47E+14 |
Table 3. Summary of Average
Relative Contribution from Sources at Petrie Island at Peak Concentration
(Average of Four
Four
Reference Storm Events from 1980)
|
Source of E.coli |
Current
Conditions |
2010-Post RTC |
2035-Post Separation (Gatineau Disinfection) |
|
Ottawa CSOs |
69.7% |
14.8% |
13.5% |
|
Gatineau CSOs |
4.6% |
4.4% |
5.5% |
|
Gatineau
WWTP |
4.6% |
12.7% |
0.0% |
|
Ottawa
Tributaries |
19.0% |
64.3% |
76.3% |
|
Gatineau
Tributaries |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
|
Ottawa
Stormwater |
0.4% |
1.2% |
1.6% |
|
Gatineau
Stormwater |
0.8% |
0.6% |
0.6% |
|
Ottawa
WWTP |
0.9% |
2.0% |
2.4% |
Prior to the
development of the model, a number of assumptions were held regarding the fate
and potential downstream impacts of discharges to the river, potential
mitigative strategies, and their relative priorities for remediation. Model runs have served to verify some of
these assumptions, and have also provided some unexpected information, which
may serve to reshape City directives.
These items are summarized in Table 4.
The results that were somewhat unexpected are bolded and italicized.
Table 4. Comparison of Expected Results and Model Findings
|
Expected Result |
Model Findings |
|
CSOs and the Gatineau WWTP are the highest
individual contributors of the E.coli loading to the Ottawa River. |
|
|
CSOs and the Gatineau WWTP have the most impact on
water quality at the Petrie Island Beach. |
·
Outside of the discharge of CSOs, the largest impacts to Petrie
Island during regular storm events result from the discharges from Green
Creek, Voyageur Creek, and Bilberry Creek. ·
Concentrated plumes from the Gatineau WWTP remain near shore and have
relatively little impact at Petrie Island. |
|
The implementation of RTC will remove a
significant volume of Ottawa CSO discharges and result in an associated
decrease of the E.coli loading. |
·
The implementation of RTC will result in: o
a 38% reduction in E.coli loading to the river; and o
a 32% reduction in E.coli concentrations at Petrie Island. |
|
·
After the implementation of RTC, Bilberry Creek, |
|
|
·
After the implementation of RTC, additional storage, at a cost of
~$45M, will reduce the E.coli concentration at Petrie Island by an additional
8% for the four reference events; or ·
Completion of the planned Sewer Separation Program, at an additional
cost of ~ ·
Stormwater management initiatives, at a total cost of ~$73M over a 10- |
|
|
·
Until the current planned Sewer Separation Program is
completed, CSOs will continue to occur Post RTC during rain events. There will be, on average, just over one
event per week during the swimming season. ·
Additional monitoring is required to determine whether or not Petrie
Island is impacted by CSOs after implementation of RTC, prior to determining
whether or not compliance with F-5-5 can be obtained without continuation
and completion of the current Planned Sewer Separation Program. |
The model can eventually be linked to the
other segments previously developed upstream of the Chaudiere Falls. This will assess the effect of stormwater
retrofits and other remedial measures that will result in the most improvement
to the overall health of the entire river.
It is expected that this review will draw stormwater impacts on Westboro
Beach into the overall consideration.
The completion of the Pinecrest Creek/Westboro SWM Retrofit Pilot Study
will also provide an indication of the degree of improvement to which SWM
retrofit efforts can effect water quality improvements in other areas of the
City.
Additional river
water quality monitoring is
required to fill existing data gaps and refine the calibration of the
model. This work
will take place over the coming year(s).
Ongoing data review and maintenance of the model will also be required
in the years to come to fine tune its operation and ensure that any changes to
the inputs are adequately updated to reflect actual conditions during its
use. If this does not occur, the use of
the model as a decision making tool will be greatly diminished.
Draft
Integrated Protection Plan
Use of the model
has helped clarify the most significant impacts on the Ottawa River, and
assisted in the initial identification of remedial priorities. Although some findings were different than
expected, the good news is that many existing strategies and programs to deal
with these issues are currently in place, in various stages of
implementation. In some cases, the completion
of the current strategy status
quo mmay be sufficient; in others, increased
resources or improved implementation mechanisms and
inter-departmental cooperation may be required. While sources of bacterial pollution are now
better understood, both the modelingmodelling
exercise and investigation into existing water protection initiatives bring
forward the larger questions of what constitutes a “healthy” water-body, and whether or nothow
best to balance the investments in the protection of the Ottawa River are in balance with the protection of
the 4,500 km of streams and rivers in the rest of the City.
The Draft
Integrated Protection Plan ffor
the Ottawa River proposes a staged approach to dealing
with water pollutionmaintaining
and protecting the water environment.
The first stage consists of the implementation of the final steps
required to address the discharge of CSOs to the Ottawa River and to improve
water quality in the river for body -contact recreation. Details in the following paragraphs refer to
this Short TermShort-Term
Integrated Protection Plan. Additional details are contained in Appendix
2.
The second stage
of the approach recognizes that once public health and regulatory requirements
are met, there is no clear-cut solution on how best to proceed with the
protection of the Ottawa River as a whole, given the sometimes conflicting
ecological, economic,
and social priorities of stakeholders.
The long-term consequences of the resolution of these issues impact
community sustainability and require that any decisions in this regard be
informed by public consultation. These
solutions will be developed as part of the second stage of the longerLonger-Term term
Integrated Protection Plan. The specific issues of concern and a
proposal for their resolution and integration into the Integrated
Protection Plan are detailed further in the report.
Combined
Sewer System Strategy
CSO
Controls
The aggressive separation completed to date as a result of the ongoing Sewer Separation Program in which $750M has been invested, and the expansion of the Pickard Centre in the 1990s, have dramatically reduced the volume of CSOs discharged to the Ottawa River. As a result, the City of Ottawa is currently in compliance with the 90% wet weather flow capture criterion of F-5-5. These requirements will be exceeded upon completion of current RTC Program in 2010, which is believed to be a first for municipalities in Ontario with combined sewers. In support of the Ottawa River Water Quality Assessment, an investigation was also undertaken to determine requirements to further increase the level of service in terms of CSO reduction, up to and including complete elimination.
Storage and Separation
The analysis of CSO service level considered several combinations of new storage, treatment capacity and conveyance capacity. High-level findings are summarized in Appendix 1. Generally speaking:
1. After
implementation of RTC, storage is the most cost-effective means of reducing
the environmental impact of CSOs on the Ottawa River. Construction of local, distributed storage
serving combined collection systems within the Ultimate Combined Sewer Area
(UCSA) will cost-effectively minimize sewage impacts on the Ottawa River;
2. Sewer
separation creates much more frequent and voluminous stormwater discharges
into the river, which would
otherwise go to the Pickard Centre for full treatment and
seasonal disinfection;
3. Continued
Sewer SSeparation
outside the UCSA reduces the number
of (low volume) CSO eventss
outside the UCSA, but does not dramatically decrease the overall
volume of CSO discharged;
;
Separation also creates much more frequent and
voluminous stormwater runoff, which previously went to the Pickard Centre for
full treatment and seasonal disinfection;
4. Storage
(for
the UCSA) dramatically reduces the volume
of CSOs discharged from the UCSA, but does not affect the number of (low
volume) CSOs occurring outside the UCSA;
and;
5. The
cost per cubic metre of CSO removed for sewer separation is $7,000 versus. $1,100
for storage.
Due to the water quality
concerns associated with untreated stormwater discharges, the option of
combined sewers with storage, rather than sewer separation, is considered to be
the one that is most beneficial to the environment. It is also significantly less costly and provides good value. This has been further substantiated by the modelingmodelling
results, as can be seen in Table 5, which indicate that storage
serving the remaining combined sewer area within the UCSA results in a
much lower loading of E.coli to the Ottawa River,
than does completion of the Sewer Separation Programseparation
of that same area. The conclusion of the optimization
process is that storage within the UCSA is the preferred option
of enhancing combined sewage collection systems beyond regulatory compliance. It is estimated that this will cost in the
area of $45M and be completed over the next three years..
The
City has also committed
to a program
of separating the combined sewers outside the UCSA
as part of its Wastewater Masterplan. The
current strategy is to continue this plan
in the interim, and projects
in this regard have been
identified as part of the Short-Term Integrated
Protection Plan. It is estimated that these works will cost
in the amount of $37.5M and
will be complete by the Fall of 2011. The
long-term
budget for this separation program, which is scheduled to take place over the next
twenty-five
years, is $250M. This is different than the current approach, which
relies on accelerated sewer separation.
Given
that the incremental benefit of sewer separation outside the UCSA is
minimal, a review of this program is
suggested.At
this time, it is recommended that we continue on our current path of
reducing/eliminating combined sewer discharges from outside the UCSA. It would be prudent to review and verify
this approach as part of the Long-Term
Integrated Protection Plan.
Table 5: Total E.coli Load to Ottawa River - Ottawa Sources Considered
· 2035 Post Separation: Refers to completion of separation program
outside the UCSA.
· 2010 RTC Max 2: Refers to RTC + storage.
· 2035 PS Max 2: Refers to RTC + completion of separation
program outside the UCSA + storage.
· 2010 RTC with SWMP: Refers to RTC + Stormwater Management
initiative.
Additional monitoring and modelingmodelling
will be carried out post RTC in order to allow optimization of the capacity of
the existing infrastructure, minimize CSO volume, measure performance, and
provide a better understanding of the potential impacts of the remaining CSOs
on the beach at Petrie Islandbody
contact recreation (at Petrie Island Beach). Should this work demonstrate with reasonable confidence that the
beach will be affected by CSOs after implementation of RTC and other measures
currently planned and recommended, Section 9(b) of F-5-5 will trigger the need
for additional measures to control the number of CSOs to no more than 2 two
events per swimming season during the average year. This objective can only be accomplished with
the implementation of: RTC,
storage within the UCSA,
and the completion of the separation program underway.
As a result, it is recommended
that separation projects currently underway to eliminate a
key bottlenecks within the collection system that results in frequent CSOs be completed, and
that the overall Sewer Separation Program be tabled for review and consultation
in the second phase of the Draft Integrated Protection Plan. Data obtained after the implementation of
RTC implementation will be used to size
storage facilities and estimate effective locations in which they can or should
be built.
It is important to highlight that
sewer separation of all the remaining combined sewers does not equate to
elimination of CSOs. It is estimated that complete elimination of
CSOs would involve construction of up to almost 300 300
kilometres of sewers and removal of foundation drain connections from up
to 80,000 private homes and buildings by replacement of service laterals or
installation of sump pumps. It would
take over 50 50
years of highly disruptive work, and would cost in excess of of
$2 2
billion. The environmental and
public health benefits would be minimal.
Extraneous
Flow Removal
Extraneous flows refer to such things as the
draining of generally uncontaminated water from foundation drains ,
downspoutsand
flat rooftops, to the sewer,
as well as groundwater entering through leaking sewers. Also known as inflow and infiltration (I/I),
these discharges can be a significant source of wet weather flow, and
contribute to CSOs and / or cause basement flooding. The IWWMP is being developed to minimize the
adverse impacts of these discharges.
Reduction of I/I in combined sewer areas serves to reduce CSOs. As a result, special consideration will be
given to I/I entering sewer -sheds
that produce CSOs in the development of the IWWMPWWIMP. To this end, a consultant is being retained
to develop the Plan, including the formation of a Technical Advisory Committee,
consolidation of information, setting objectives,
and evaluation of potential remedial strategies. The IMWWMPWWIMP
is anticipated to be complete by the end of 2009, with full implementation
scheduled for 2012, at a cost of approximately $2 million.
Source
Control
Source control measures refer to activities
that prevent pollution from entering the sewage system in order to minimize the
environmental impacts of discharges.
Initiatives include the installation of inlet
control devicesfloatables traps to reduce the mass of
floatable material reaching the Ottawa River from the drainage within the
Combined Sewer Area, and a review of older sewer interconnections, which may no
longer be necessary, and result in un-treated
overflows. Many other existing City
programs, practices,
and by-laws reduce pollution at source, consistent
with Section 6 (b) of F-5-5. Their
effectiveness will be assessed during the second phase of the Integrated
Protection Plan, with public input, and recommendations regarding
continuance or enhancements will be made at that time.
Summary of Short- Term Recommended Measures for CSO
Reduction:
·
Finalize
implementation of RTC;
·
Invest
in slocal
storage as a preferred measure in dealing with CSOs
from the UCSA;
·
Complete
sewer separation projects currently underway to deal with bottlenecks in the
system and review the effectiveness of this program in the second phase of the
protection program;
·
Continue
monitoring for system optimization and determination of compliance with F5-5
beach criteria;
·
Develop
and implement the WWIMP;
·
Install
floatable traps in combined sewer area catch basins and review sewer
interconnections; and
·
Review
the effectiveness of other source control initiatives in the second phase of
the Protection Program.
Stormwater
Management Strategy
Unlike master planning for
centralized water and wastewater systems, stormwater management infrastructure
is necessarily planned on a more local basis, at the catchment or subwatershed
level. Given
the results of the modelingmodelling
exercise, the approach to the SWM Strategy is in need of review. In addition to the requirement that it be
accelerated, a focuphased
implementation to the completion of the City-Wwide SWM Retrofit Master Plan has been
determined to best suit the needs of the Short- Term Draft
Integrated Protection Plan. To date this is in contrast to the current
initiative of a Ccity-Wwide approach, as previously
recommended. The first phase includes
SWM Retrofit Plans in areas directly impacting beaches on the Ottawa
River. These projects will also be used
to test the feasibility and public acceptance of their broad scale
implementation of various source control measures in the last phase of the
Plan, when it is expanded to encompass the remainder of the urban area.
The
Pinecrest Creek SWM Retrofit Plan pilot study, which is currently
underway, is defined by the Pinecrest Creek sub-watershedsubwatershed
and adjacent storm outfalls upstream of Westboro Beach. These areas have little or no SWM controls
in place, resulting in poor water quality, frequent
beach closures,
and problems such as erosion. This
study is anticipated to be complete by the fall of 2010. It is recommended that a similar approach be used
toThe next phase will focus on the SWM
retrofit plan to cover the Bilberry, Voyageur and Green’sGreen
Creek sub-watershedsubwatersheds,
which impact the beach at Petrie Island.
It is anticipated that these will commence in the spring of 2010. The final phase will expand the SWM retrofit
plan to cover the remainder of the urban area.
In the absence of the completed SWM Retrofit Master Plan,
it is difficult to estimate the total cost of implementing SWM Rretrofit Citywide. However, a review of costs from other
municipalities (Toronto, Hamilton) indicates an average per-hectare capital
cost in the order of $13,000. With an existing urban area (net of the
Greenbelt) of approximately 33,000 hectares, of which about 30% already has or
will be built with stormwater management, the total cost of implementing SWM Rretrofit for a net area of about
23,000 hectares is estimated to be in the order of $300
million.
dollars.
Further details of required
studies, phasing and a preliminary estimate of implementation costs are
provided in Table 6.
Table 6. SWM Retrofit
Master Plan and Preliminary Implementation Costs
|
Phase |
Estimated Cost |
Estimated Timing |
|
1. Pinecrest Creek/Westboro SWM Retrofit Plan |
$0.25M |
Fall 2010 completion |
|
2. Eastern Subwatersheds SWM Retrofit Plan (Bilberry,
Voyageur, |
$0.75M |
Spring 2010 - Spring 2012 |
|
3. Implement SWM retrofit projects on a priority basis:
Pinecrest and Eastern Subwatersheds |
$72M |
Commence Spring 2013 |
|
4. Remainder of SWM Retrofit Master Plan |
$2M |
Fall 2012 – Fall 2014 |
|
5. Implement SWM retrofit projects on a priority basis
for remainder of SWM retrofit area |
$228M |
Commence Spring 2015 |
|
6. Periodic |
$0.40M |
2017 |
Notes:
1.
Estimated SWM retrofit capital cost/hectare = $13,000 (excludes
staff costs for implementation and monitoring which would be additional).
Wastewater Treatment Plant Enhancements
The Ministry of the Environment establishes the effluent criteria for wastewater treatment facilities through Certificates of Approval (C of A). It is important to note that the Pickard Centre is currently operated in full compliance with its C of A, which identifies only four compliance limits: carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, total phosphorous, and E.coli. It does not address parameters that are known to be toxic to fish, such as un-ionized ammonia and chlorine.
Details regarding effluent from
the Pickard Centre are summarized in Table 7.
Table 7. Pickard Centre
Treated Effluent
|
Parameter |
Measured Effluent |
Certificate
of Approval |
Provincial Water Quality
Objective |
Upcoming Regulations |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Limit |
Timing |
|
8 mg/l |
25
mg/l |
|
NA |
NA |
|
|
Total
Suspended Solids |
13 mg/l |
25
mg/l |
|
|
|
|
Phosphorous |
0.85 |
<1.0
mg/l |
0.03
mg/l |
|
|
|
E. Coli |
80
cfu/ 100ml |
<200cfu/
100ml |
|
|
|
|
Total
Residual Chlorine |
0.45 mg/l |
N/A |
0.002
mg/l |
0.02
mg/l |
15
Dec |
|
Ammonia |
0.19 mg/l |
N/A |
0.02
mg/l |
|
2020-2030 |
Upcoming regulations with a requirement to achieve and maintain a concentration of total residual chlorine in the effluent of less than or equal to 0.02mg/l are expected by the end of 2010. Given that the Pickard Centre does not currently meet this objective, works pertaining to the dechlorination of the effluent are underway, at a cost of $7M. If other proposed performance standards are prescribed under new regulations, processes at the Pickard Centre may have to be modified to change the quality of effluent.
Although concentrations of total
total phosphorous in Pickard
Centrethe
final effluent Provincial
exceed
Provincial Water Quality Objectives
(PWQO) in the near field,
full incorporation of the effluent in the river
results in compliance with the PWQO within 1.8
kilometres. iIt
should be noted that the intent of this guideline was established to prevent
excessive plant growth in water bodies.
Underwater observations in the Ottawa River within
the area
of exceedance have shown little plant growth on the river bottom in the
vicinity of the Pickard Centre discharge, indicating that the elevated total
phosphorous concentrations are not having a detectable impact on the immediate
receiving environment. As a result,
enhanced phosphorous removal is not recommended at this time, but will be
included as a potential enhancement solution
to be reviewed as part of the second phase of the Integrated
Protection Plan. Recommendations
regarding enhanced ammonia removal are pending the assessment of additional
monitoring information expected to be obtained as part of the 2009
Environmental Effects Monitoring Program.
There may be a
public desire to go beyond the achievement of regulatory compliance with
respect to the protection of the Ottawa River.
Details with respect to potential operational changes to the wastewater
treatment process have been documented in the Advanced Wastewater Treatment White Paper Report for the Robert O.
Pickard Environmental Centre (Stantec 2009), and will be brought forward for
review as part of the public consultation process for the implementation of the
second phase of the Draft Integrated Protection Plan.
Environmental
Management
The City is
currently developing an Environmental Management System for all Wastewater and
Drainage Services, modeled on the ISO14000 standard, which could lead to
changes in operations and maintenance practices. This commitment to demonstrate environmental management involves
four separate areas: risk based impact
assessment, preparation of strategies for risk avoidance, auditing and
reporting, and continuous improvement based on given results. The development of the City’s water
environment strategy, and ongoing monitoring and reporting, are closely linked
to this activity and considered priorities for the Short
TermShort-Term
Integrated Protection Plan. Enhancements will be considered in the
second phase of the Integrated
Protection Plan..
In light of the above, a summary of the first stage of the Integrated Protection Plan is as follows:
Table 8. Draft
Short TermShort-Term
Integrated Protection Plan for the
Ottawa River
|
Preferred Alternatives for the |
Estimated Cost |
Estimated Completion |
|
CSO
Reduction |
|
|
|
Implementation
of Real Time Controls |
$30M |
Spring 2010 |
|
CSO Storage
Ultimate Combined Sewer Area |
$45M |
Fall 2013 |
|
Sewer Separation outside Ultimate
Combined Sewer Area * |
$37.5M |
Fall 2011 |
|
Critical CSO and Storm Outfall Monitoring |
$5M |
Summer 2010 |
|
Development of the Wet Weather Infrastructure
Management Plan |
$0.14M |
December 2009 |
|
Implementation of the Wet Weather Infrastructure
Management Plan |
$2M |
January 2012 |
|
Installation of Floatable Traps in Combined Sewer
Area Catch Basins |
$1.8M |
December 2009 |
|
Review of Sewer Interconnections |
$0.75M |
Fall 2010 |
|
Stormwater
Management * |
|
|
|
Pinecrest
Creek/Westboro SWM Retrofit Plan |
$0.25M |
Fall
of 2010 |
|
Eastern Subwatersheds
SWM Retrofit Plan |
$0.75M |
Spring 2012 |
|
Implementation of SWM retrofit projects on a
priority basis for Pinecrest Creek and Eastern Subwatersheds |
$72M |
Spring 2023 |
|
Wastewater Treatment Plant Enhancements |
|
|
|
De-chlorination of Pickard Centre Effluent |
$7M |
December 2010 |
|
Environmental Management |
|
|
|
Development of Water Environment Strategy |
$1M |
Summer 2011 |
|
Development and Implement an Environmental
Management System |
$0.15M |
2010 |
|
Continued updating of computer model to assist
with prioritization |
$0.20M |
Ongoing |
|
Continued monitoring and source control programs
and activities |
$0.26M |
Ongoing |
|
TOTAL COST for SHORT-TERM
PLAN |
$203.8M |
|
*
Pertains only to projects identified for the Short-Term Integrated
Protection Plan.
Long- Term Integrated
Protection Plan
ThThe
priorities, or criteria for the protection of the Ottawa River, range from the
relatively straightforward achievement of regulatory compliance and recreational
use of the waterway, to exceeding regulatory compliance and the holistic
protection of the aquatic environment.
Each comes with an increasing cost and benefit to the environment. The resolution of these issues, which
will be addressed as part of the Long-Term Strategy,
which are outlined in the following paragraphs, is not
straightforward. They will also have
long lasting repercussions. The
questions to be posed
as part of the public consultation
process can
be found in
Appendix 3.
Once Public Health and regulatory requirements are
met, should the focus of remedial initiatives remain on the removal of E.coli,
or is it preferable to take an ecosystem management approach in the protection
of our natural resource features?
Both the Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy and the
City of Ottawa SWM Strategy recognize that the concentrations of E.coli in a
waterbody are not necessarily indicators of aquatic health, and that the
impacts of some constituents can be much more harmful to the aquatic
environment than others. For example,
as stormwater travels, it picks up oil, grease, metals, chlorides, pesticides,
and other pollutants, depositing them into the nearest creek or stream,
untreated. Toxic
impacts may be caused by: elevated levels of ammonia, chlorides, metals, and
trace organics mostly associated with stormwater discharges. It’s also important to note that the City
has committed to an ecosystem management approach through the Environmental
Strategy.
Should initiatives focus strictly on the protection
of the Ottawa River, or do we shift our efforts to maintaining the health of
smaller streams and tributaries?
Impacts of stormwater discharges are felt most in
smaller tributaries, due in part, to the lesser ability of these water bodies
to tolerate the additional resulting stresses.
Both the Lower Rideau Watershed Strategy and the City of Ottawa SWM
Strategy also identify the protection of stream function and habitat in smaller
tributaries as main objectives. The
protection of these smaller waterbodies then serves to protect and sustain the
health of the larger rivers into which they flow. This is supported by the water quality monitoring information
collected by the WEPP.
How important are localized effects and issues, and
to what extent should they be considered when prioritizing remedial activities
and Capital Projects?
Local issues and priorities held by various
individual stakeholders must be considered for the successful implementation of
an action plan. Items such as proximity
to beaches and recreational areas, or home ownership in areas directly affected
by CSO reduction initiatives will result in a variety of opinions as to where
priorities lie, and what elements should be contained in the optimal Long Term
Protection Plan. Some initiatives may
also rely somewhat on the individual’s co-operation in their
implementation. These issues need to
balanced with the Citywide need for the overall protection of the River.
Is there a desire to demonstrate and promote
leadership in environmental stewardship by going beyond the achievement of
Regulatory Compliance?
Certain
activities or initiatives, such as limiting the number of CSO events to 1 per
specified return period or enhancing the wastewater treatment process,
represent a significant increase in level of service, sometimes at substantial
cost, while exceeding minimum regulatory compliance requirements. Benefits from their implementation may
include improved aesthetics, habitat, aquatic health, or the opportunity to
provide leadership in the researching and implementing new technologies. Due to the associated increased costs,
direction on the level in which to move forward in this manner, if any, is
required.
Evaluation Criteria
Once public health
and regulatory requirements are met, there is currently no clear-cut solution
on how best to proceed with the protection of the Ottawa River,
given the sometimes conflicting ecological, economic and social priorities of
stakeholders. In
consideration of Given the magnitude of the funding
required, there is an appropriate need to develop a decision- making template to assist guidinge staff towards the development of a
publicly acceptable Integrated Protection Plan for the Ottawa River. In this interest, draft evaluation criteria
have been developed to ensure that all potential remediation strategies are
consistently evaluated, and that the decision- making process is transparent, and
takes into account the costs and benefits of the various protection
strategies. A description of the draft
evaluation criteria is contained in Appendix 43 of this document.
The long-term
consequences of the resolution of these issues, requires that any decisions in
this regard need to be informed by public consultation. The intent is to consult with the public
over the fall months to::
·
Inform them of the results of the water quality model
and initiatives identified in the Draft Integrated Protection Plan to improve
water quality;
· Identify the costs and relative benefits of each initiative, cumulatively;
·
Determine local water quality issues and
willingness to implement options, where feasible;
·
·
Obtain feedback on: the Draft Integrated Protection Plan
and evaluation criteria; and
·
Provide details as to the process and timing for
approval of the Draft Integrated Protection Plan, and how they can participate
and influence its outcome.
Based on this, the City will then be able to gauge:
·
The level of support for the new and existing
initiatives set out in the Draft Integrated Protection Plan;
·
The
degree to which the Plan addresses
localized water quality issues of importance to specific communities within the
City; and
·
The
need to modify the plan to obtain public support.
It is estimated that the public consultation process will cost in the order of $100,000.
The second
stage of the Draft Integrated Protection Plan proposes to
continue systematic and comprehensive evaluation of future projects based on
criteria established by Council through public consultation, a public education
and outreach campaign; monitoring and reporting to assess the success of the pPlan;
and continuous improvement, with revisions as necessary, based on observed
results. The public input on the
recommended approach and evaluation criteria for the second stage of the pPlan,
will be summarized and brought forward to Council
at a later datePlanning and Environment Committee in early 2010.
Other Agencies
The City
remains committed to participating on the Tripartite Committee for the Ottawa
River, with its partners, the National Capital Commission and la ville de Gatineaula
Ville de Gatineau, and the National Capital Commission. Staff have also developed a
working relationship with their counterparts in la
ville de Gatineaula Ville de Gatineau to share information and
continuously update the model. Gatineau
will also be provided with the opportunity to be involved in the public
consultation initiatives, given that they are part of the solution. For example, they currently have a study
underway to determine
the feasibility ofassess
disinfection options for their wastewater treatment plant effluent, with plans
for its implementation over the next few years. This will impact the water quality in the Ottawa River and may
serve to change the focus of remedial efforts on the Ottawa side of the River,
if other impacts become more pronounced.
SUMMARY
The main sources of wastewater
discharges to the Ottawa River from Ottawathe City are Combined
Sewer Overflows (CSOs),
stormwater run-off entering directly,
from storm sewers and
or indirectly through tributary creeks and
rivers, and treated final effluent discharged from the Pickard Centre. CSOs contribute the largest loadings of
bacteria to the river from these sources; stormwater is the largest source of
other contaminants, including metals. A
number of initiatives to: reduce
pollution, achieve environmental and public health benefits, and provide a
long-term plan to guide the management of the health of urban streams and
rivers are currently underway in various stages of implementation. Several elements in many of
these inter-departmental initiatives
overlap.
The computer modelingmodelling
of the Ottawa River helped confirm the most significant impacts on the Ottawa
River, and assisted in the initial identification of remedial
priorities. Prior to the development of
the model, a number of assumptions were held regarding the fate and potential
downstream impacts of discharges to the river, potential mitigative strategies,
and their relative priorities for remediation.
Model runs have served to verify some of these assumptions, and have
also provided some unexpected information, which have served to reshape City
directives.:
Table
9. Change in Strategy Direction Based on Model Results
|
Strategy |
Previous Direction |
Current Direction |
|
CSO Reduction |
·
Implementation of RTC ·
Accelerated Sewer Separation ·
Consideration for storage in upcoming infrastructure renewal
·
Implementation of the WWIMP |
·
Implementation of RTC ·
Storage ·
Completion of current sewer separation projects, and a review of
the Program as part of second phase of the Draft Protection Program ·
Projects prioritized as part of over-all Integrated
Protection Plan ·
Public consultation on other source control initiatives to determine
where enhancements may be required ·
Implementation
of the WWIMP |
|
Stormwater Management |
·
|
·
Acceleration of SWM Strategy ·
SWM retrofit plans to initially focus on watersheds impacting beaches ·
Implementation of |
|
Wastewater Treatment Plant |
·
Dechlorination of Pickard Centre effluent for compliance with
upcoming regulations |
·
Dechlorination of Pickard Centre effluent ·
Public consultation on desire for enhanced phosphorous and |
|
Water Environment Strategy |
·
No action |
·
Implementation by 2011 |
|
Ongoing monitoring and reporting |
·
Sporadic and program based |
·
To be implemented as part of
|
|
Public Outreach |
·
N/A |
·
To be implemented by 2012 |
In order to build
on the significant level of effort already ongoing in support of the City’s
various water protection initiatives, it is recommended that their relevant
components be integrated to allow for the prioritization of future works
pertaining to the protection of the Ottawa River. In some cases, the completion
of the current strategy status
quo may be sufficient; in other, increased resources or improved
implementation mechanisms and
inter-departmental cooperation may be required.
The Draft Integrated Protection Plan for the Ottawa River recommends a staged approach to dealing with water pollution. The first stage consists of the implementation of the final steps required to address the discharge of combined sewer overflows to the Ottawa River and to improve water quality in the river for body-contact recreation. The second stage recognizes that once public health and regulatory requirements are met, there is no clear-cut solution on how best to proceed with the protection of the Ottawa River as a whole, given the sometimes conflicting ecological, economic, and social priorities of stakeholders. The long-term consequences of the resolution of these issues impact community sustainability and require that any decisions in this regard be informed by public consultation. These solutions will be developed as part of the second stage of the longer term Integrated Protection Plan. Details can be found in Appendix 2.
The draftDraft
Short TermShort-Term
Integrated Protection Plan, and evaluation
criteria will be brought forward for public consultation over the fall months
of 2009. The goals of this consultation
are to: engage
the public; obtain feedback on the proposed strategy and evaluation criteria
for future works; and establish environmental protection goals for the second
stage of the Integrated protection
Protection plan’s
Plan’s implementation.
The second
stage of the plan proposes systematic and comprehensive evaluation of future
projects based on criteria established by Council through public consultation,
a public education and outreach campaign; monitoring and reporting to assess
the success of the plan; and continuous improvement, with revisions as
necessary, based on observed results.
The public input on the recommended approach and evaluation criteria for
the second stage of the plan, will be summarized and brought forward to Council
by early 2010Council
at a later date.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
The reduction of discharges to the Ottawa River will assist in fulfilling the goals of the Ottawa 20/20 and the City’s Environmental Strategy. It also serves to demonstrate the City’s leadership in water environment protection and fulfills the strategic direction provided by the Planning and Environment Committee.
CONSULTATION
Consultation
amongst City Departments has also occurred in order to coordinate water quality
improvement initiatives and meetings with the
National Capital Commission and the
City la Ville deof
Gatineau and the NCC have been initiated. City staff also plan to bring the draftDraft
Integrated Pprotection
Plan plan and evaluation criteria forward
for public consultation over the fall of 2009
to inform the 2010 Budget. The consultation will be coordinated with
other environmental consultation activities whenever possible. The National Capital Commission, la
Ville de Gatineau and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment will
also be included in this exercise.
Public consultation has also been ongoing in the development of the
Stormwater Management Strategy and the RTC projects. City staff have also consulted extensively with the Ontario Ministry
of the Environment on these initiatives.
LEGAL/RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
There is a need to develop priorities and
strategies that will ensure money is utilized to achieve the greatest
benefit. The use of the draft
evaluation criteria, in coordination with the public consultation workshops
will ensure that this is the case.
The successful implementation of the RTC project is expected to bring the City further into compliance with the Ministry of the Environment’s Procedure F-5-5. Post RTC, implementation of Ottawa River water quality monitoring will determine if this is adequate for compliance with all aspects of the Procedure.
FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
Initiatives to reduce the
City’s impact on the Ottawa River will impact the Long Range Financial Plan and
Corporate Departmental Plans. Many of
these initiatives will incur capital cost well above or accelerated from those
anticipated in LRFP III and in
the 2009-2018 capital budget.
Pre-commitments to future years’ budgets may also be required. Additional opportunities for cost sharing
with other government bodies may also require exploration.
Council has approved Ottawa
River Funding (ORF) of $139 million over five5 years, including $19.75 million in
2009. Once
this Plplan undergoes the public consultation
process, proposed adjustments to the ORF requirements
will be included and identified in the 2010 Draft Rate Budget.
It is estimated that the
public consultation assignment will cost $100,000 and funding is available in the 2009
Approved Capital Budget in Capital Internal Order 905053 ORF-Critical Outfall
Monitoring.
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Appendix
Document 1 Analysis
of CSO Control Options
Appendix
Document 2 Proposed
Draft Integrated Strategy for the Protection of the Ottawa River
Document 3 Questions to be Considered as Part of the
Public Consultation Process
Appendix
Document 43 Draft
Evaluation
Criteria for Establishment of Priorities for Improvements of Ottawa River Water
Quality
DISPOSITION
Environmental Services will continue
to work in cooperation with City Departments including: Infrastructure Services, Public
Health, Community Sustainability,
and d
the Planning and Growth Management in the implementation of the
Hydrologic Model of the Ottawa River and associated initiatives undertaken to
reduce water pollution. External
agencies such as the
City of Gatineaula Ville de Gatineau, Conservation Authority
Source Protection Committees and provincial and federal environment ministries
will be contacted throughout the process when warranted. Staff
will conduct public consultation through the fall of 2009 and report back on
the results of the public consultation to inform/adjust the 2010 Rate Budget.
