Left untreated, municipal wastewater poses a significant threat to any ecosystem that happens to have the brown stuff pumped into it. For that reason, wastewater treatment facilities serve as critical safeguards to ensure the waste we deposit in our sinks and toilets does not sully the natural environment around us. In Niagara Falls, its main facility is falling well short.
According to data from the Niagara Region, treatment efficiency at the Niagara Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant was reduced by an average of 30 percent in 2024. A reduction that poses a threat to the Niagara River ecosystem which could now be tasked with absorbing chemical and nutrient levels harmful to wildlife and plants.
In November, wastewater at the plant exceeded toxicity levels put in place to protect humans and wildlife, an indicator of the Region’s aging infrastructure and the desperate need to invest in upgrades. It was the second time in nine months after previous tests in March were also found to be toxic.
On December 20, 2024 members of regional council received a memo in their electronically distributed weekly correspondence package explaining that treated effluent samples—the water that passes through the plant’s treatment processes and is discharged into the environment—collected over two weeks in November had failed testing and found to be “acutely toxic”.
Effluent toxicity refers to the degree to which a substance is harmful to living organisms. The effluent is considered acutely toxic when more than 50 percent of rainbow trout tested in a laboratory setting die from the sampled waste.
In addition to the harmful levels discovered in November, effluent from the same plant reached a toxicity level of 60 percent in March 2024. Those results led to a formal written warning, received in May 2024, from the Enforcement Branch of the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for contravention of the Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations under the Fisheries Act.
In both the March and November instances of acute toxicity, regional staff could not definitively identify a source of the toxicity or a “smoking gun” but commented that aging infrastructure at the facility was certainly a contributor.
“The poor effluent quality is a direct result of secondary treatment equipment at the plant that has passed its useful life,” the council memo reads. “This results in frequent breakdowns and equipment out of service regularly and impacts the plant’s ability to remove pollutants effectively.”
This is not a new struggle. The 2023 annual report on the facility notes: “The facility struggled to maintain a compliant effluent in 2023.”
What differed between the March and November incidents was the timeliness of staff’s reporting of the non-compliant tests. It was not until mid-August of 2024 that councillors learned of the March toxicity failure and the May written warning. Commissioner of Public Works Terry Ricketts took responsibility indicating that because of the formal written warning, she wanted to do her due diligence before reporting back. She conceded that in the future Council would be notified more promptly when staff learn of any exceedances.
By the time Regional politicians had reconvened after the holidays, effluent samples passed testing for three consecutive bi-weekly “passes” (as required by legislation) allowing the facility to return to its regular quarterly testing schedule, with the next toxicity test planned for mid-February. Nonetheless, staff provided a verbal update at the January 7th Public Works Committee meeting.
Phill Lambert, Director, Water & Wastewater Services, informed committee members that the effluent from the Niagara Falls plant is discharged into the Ontario Power Generation Hydro Canal for hydro purposes and stressed that the plant’s discharge “is not downstream of any drinking water intake or beaches.”
He explained the elevated levels of toxicity in wastewater entering the plant are not uncommon, as such concentrations are typical in effluents. It is through the secondary treatment process at wastewater plants that toxicity is reduced to acceptable levels; however, the condition of the secondary treatment at the Niagara Falls facility has resulted in the concentrations exceeding permissible levels.
The secondary treatment involves the removal of biodegradable organic matter and suspended solids—which pollutants and latch onto—through the processes of aeration and filtration.
The state of the secondary treatment process at the Niagara Falls facility was raised in September last year when councillors received an eye-opening presentation by Commissioner Ricketts on the Region’s Water and Wastewater Service State of Repair.
The report from Ricketts noted that 90 percent of the Region’s wastewater capacity is delivered by plants more than 50 years old. Collectively, these plants have an investment backlog of more than $400 million and 49 percent of the Region’s wastewater facility assets are deemed to be in poor to very poor condition.
The Niagara Falls wastewater plant has been in operation since 1963. Regional staff assured council in September that a capital project to upgrade the secondary treatment system is “well underway” and that the implementation is already on an expedited schedule. Even so, the new equipment will not be operational until the second quarter of 2025. Director Lambert reiterated the timeline to the Public Works committee describing it as “good news”.
While staff may describe the replacement of the secondary treatment process as on an “expedited” schedule, a review of Niagara Region annual budget documents, procurement results and past council reports illustrate that projects of this magnitude—and there are many more needed across the region—take many years from contemplation to fruition. In addition, the secondary treatment replacement is merely phase one of the proposed improvements to the Niagara facility, with two subsequent phases identified.
The following is a chronology on the process of approving and financing the upgrades for the Niagara Falls plant and some of the delays that have occurred along the way:
2018
An upgrade to the facility is identified in the 10-year capital budget. $22 million is forecasted to be committed in the following year’s capital budget, with $6 million to follow in 2022. $2.1 million had previously been approved in the capital budget.
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) issued a Provincial Official Order in July 2018 with a number of requirements including the submission of an Environmental Compliance Approval Amendment for the secondary treatment system to the MECP by January 2021.
2019
The initial financial requirement for the project, now identified as WWTP Upgrade - Niagara Falls Secondary Treatment, is increased to $33 million, with the anticipated funding delayed until 2020.
In April, the Region received a federal written warning from Environment and Climate Change Canada for acutely toxic effluent. These exceedances are attributed to aging equipment and poorly performing rotating biological contactors (RBC)—a system that pulls pollutants from the wastewater.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued in August for design services. The RFP indicates that construction is to commence in 2020, with an anticipated duration of 30 months.
The RFP was awarded in October, to Environmental Infrastructure Solutions Inc., out of Markham. The company’s bid is $666,377.25
2020
The projected costs of the second phase is increased to $26 million. Staff’s schedule for the funding of the Secondary Treatment project is again shifted a year later to 2021 and 2023, respectively.
An RFP is issued to provide geotechnical and hydrogeological engineering services for Phase 1 of the project.
At year end, the Region submits the Environmental Compliance Approval Amendment ordered by the Province.
2021
The Niagara Falls WWTP Secondary Treatment Upgrade is formally presented in the 2021 Capital Budget, three years after first being identified. It is approved by Regional Council, with an increased budget of $47 million, making it the second largest capital project in the 2021 budget. Another wastewater treatment project, the proposed construction of the new South Niagara Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant has the highest price tag, funded at $320 million. The additional $26 million for the second phase of the upgrades remains earmarked for 2023.
After short listing bidders earlier in the year, a construction tender for the upgrades at the facility was approved by council in December. Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd., of Mississauga, is the low bidder on the project with a tender of almost $43 million.
Despite $47 million allocated in the year’s capital budget, council also approves a budget increase on the project of approximately $2.7 million due to increased costs for materials and labour. Extra design services are required due to a change in scope of the project and significant soil and groundwater contamination that was found necessitating additional sampling and analysis in anticipation of the construction process.
2022
Construction at the NFWWTP commences in April. Work is halted approximately seven weeks later when asbestos containing materials are found in the soil during excavation. The focus on the project shifts to the removal and disposal of asbestos from the site and construction becomes limited to areas where there is no risk of exposure to soils containing asbestos.
In September, staff provided a report on the asbestos remediation associated with project. As a result, council approves a $10 million addition to the project’s budget.
2023
After being earmarked for 2023, the $26 million for the second phase of the project is moved to 2025 in the 10-year capital budget.
In March, staff reports that the Region has received another tranche of funding through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Green Municipal Fund. The $62 million project has cumulatively received grants of approximately $3.4 million and debt financing through FCM of $22.8 million. The project had also previously received $3 million in Federal Gas Tax funding.
2024
A formal written warning is received from the Enforcement Branch of the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for contravention of the Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations under the Fisheries Act. Later in the year when staff reports to Council it promises that the Secondary Treatment improvements will be completed by mid-2025, which should eliminate exceedances in toxicity.
At the January Public Works committee meeting, Regional Chair Jim Bradley presented the justification for the $62 million project, especially related to a six-decade old facility.
“This is an example of an expenditure that is not optional. We must comply with the rules and regulations of the Ministry of the Environment of Ontario and the Ministry of the Environment of Canada. Our infrastructure is 60 and maybe even 70 years old in some cases and the equipment does not last forever and the processes can change from time to time as new developments come on scientifically and technically, I think it's worthwhile noting that is a compulsory expenditure on the part of the Regional Council.”
A day after the committee meeting, The Pointer poses a question to Director Lambert on the efficacy of fixes to a more than sixty-year-old facility.
“It’s a full replacement. Replacing the secondary treatment process will restart the asset life of the facility,” he said.
The various staff reports note that the existing secondary treatment is being retrofitted with a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) process, that will better handle the winery and food processing waste that has occasionally hampered efforts at Niagara Falls facility. During periods of toxicity exceedances, including the most recent incident reported by staff, winery and food processing waste has had to be diverted to other wastewater treatment plants.
Staff has described the MBBR process as an innovative “out-of-the-box” solution that will meet the Region’s regulatory requirements.
Those regulatory requirements are the priority for Regional staff. When asked if, in addition to improved toxicity results, there are other measurements or key performance indicators that will indicate effectiveness of the capital expenditures of the secondary treatment work, Lambert responded:
“To that, I would say we have a requirement to treat effluent to a certain standard. So, our goal is to meet that requirement.”
As for the timing of future phases of the upgrades, Lambert confirmed that $26 million funding for the next phase was not included in the 2025 capital budget, as previously forecasted. As for whether it will be listed in 2026, he’s non-committal, indicating that staff will be going through 2026 budget preparation shortly, looking at priorities. He indicates scheduling of what needs to be done, when it needs to be replaced and what type of maintenance is prioritized will be in keeping with the Region’s Asset Management Plan—the plan required of municipalities to help inform investment decisions for municipal infrastructure.
Director Lambert clarifies that the proposed Niagara South WWTP will not replace the Niagara Falls facility, as there is enough need for both, with the latter handling the needs of properties north of Highway 20.
When asked directly about the status of the Phase 1 project construction milestones and whether the timelines promised to Regional Council are achievable, Lambert responds that he can offer a “high level statement” that “we anticipate the project to be completed, including all of the (construction) components by mid-2025.”
Regional Communications staff provide a subsequent update to The Pointer indicating that “the secondary clarifier systems are complete with the remaining items scheduled to be completed by mid-2025.”
Looking at the Region’s Capital Projects page, that would mean that all other construction components remain to be completed: replacing the existing rotating biological contactors with the MBBR process; construction of new chemical and blower buildings; construction of a new chlorine contact tank and dechlorination system and improvements to plant access and electrical and water supplies.
While staff remain confident that mid-2025 is achievable, the deadline that the Region has to be mindful of is August 22, 2026, the date that the secondary treatment process upgrades must be completed by, as per the Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) Amendment submitted in response to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP)’s 2018 order.
Dean Iorfida is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at The Pointer.