Woodward Avenue Water and Wastewater upgrades progressing
It’s the biggest single capital project undertaken by the city of Hamilton. The upgrades at the Woodward Avenue wastewater treatment centre will cost over $300 Million when it is complete. The project has been divided into three sections—
- A new main wastewater pumping station
- An electrical and chlorination Project
- Tertiary Treatment Project
City water staff provided an update on the project to a council subcommittee Monday.
The main pumping station is an $88 Million project that appears to be on budget and will be complete in February 2022.
The Electrical and Chlorination upgrades project is a $61M contract That will replace a 1950’s-era installation and will improve the plant’s ability to chlorinate water during extreme downpours. That project will be completed in October.
The biggest of the three projects is the Tertiary treatment upgrade. This is the project that will have the biggest impact on water quality in Hamilton Harbour. The project adds a higher level of treatment (tertiary) to the wastewater treatment process using Disc Filtration technology. The TTU project is a $165M construction contract.
Contaminated Soil
The project has run into a snag with the discovery of unanticipated PCB-contaminated soil on the site which will require extra expenditures to remediate or dispose of the soil. Staff are hoping there is enough money in the contingency accounts for these projects, but they warn that there could be additional money needed and that money would have to be added to next year’s water bills. The senior governments have contributed $190 Million towards the wastewater upgrades, with the city share set at over $100 Million.
Architectural Significance
An interesting aesthetic feature of the project is in the building design, paying homage to the Italianate architecture of the 160-year old Thomas Keefer-designed pumping station that now houses the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology. The consultant on the project is a combination of Aecom and CH2M Hill. The contractor performing the work is a joint venture between Maple Reinders and Ball Construction.
