Water infrastructure firm wins $17M contract to upgrade treatment plant in Port Alberni, B.C.

PORT ALBERNI, B.C.—A Vancouver Island city of approximately 18,000 has awarded the main construction contract that will kick-start work on significant upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.

Port Alberni, B.C. said last week it will pay Tritech Group $17.1 million to build a new aeration system, add an outfall in the city’s harbour and install screening and ultraviolet light disinfection systems at a lagoon adjacent to its current wastewater plant.

The old plant has been in use since the 1950s and will be returned to a wetland habitat once work on the new facility is complete.

The project is expected to occupy crews for about two years. The city says the new plant will improve the city’s wastewater capacity and effluent quality while bringing the system up to modern Canadian standards.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the next few weeks.