York Region?s Membrane Journey

2003 saw the commisioning of York Region’s Georgina Water Treatment Plant – one of the first Zenon 500c membrane treatment plants in Ontario. The Region had selected membranes on the basis of performance efficiency and treatment capacity. Since commissioning, the plant has undergone an expansion and upgrade of the membrane system to meet growth. Then in 2014 the Region began operating the Keswick Water Pollution Control Plant utilizing Zeeweed 1000 units for wastewater tertiary treatment in order to achieve very low phosphorus effluent levels to meet the requirements of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act. Looking forward, the Region is planning a Water Reclamation Centre that will include both ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis membrane treatment of wastewater to produce potable quality water at the end of the process. Operationally, moving from convential water or wastewater treatment to membranes presents a fundamental shift in treatment processes. There is significant knowledge gap that must be bridged around maintenance, monitoring and treatment philosophy. Staff must learn how to evaluate membrane performance and timing of proactive maintenance while working to achieve regulatory requirements.

This presentation is available to AMTA Members only.