The City of Hamilton’s new facility to treat the biosolids resulting from the city’s wastewater treatment process is moving ahead. The city has signed an agreement with Harbour City Solutions, the company that will ultimately deliver the project.

This public-private-partnership is also supported through funding from PPP Canada for the design, build, finance, operation, and maintenance of the biosolids facility. The facility will take the nutrient-rich organic materials that result from the wastewater treatment process and turn them into pellets to be sold for fertilizer or fuel. Currently, the City of Hamilton produces about 38,500 wet tonnes of biosolids per year.

“This will be one of the first and the largest municipal water and wastewater public-private-partnership projects in Ontario and adds to the City’s innovative profile as a leader in municipal biosolids management and resource recovery,” said Fred Eisenberger, Mayor of Hamilton.

Harbour City Solutions, the selected proponent for the project, is a consortium of companies that will create the designs, obtain financing, and oversee the construction of the facility. They will also operate and maintain it for a period of 30 years once construction is complete.

The cost of the project is estimated at $106 million. Fifty per cent of the capital costs will be paid once construction of the facility is complete — split equally between PPP Canada and the City of Hamilton. The remaining capital costs as well as the operation and maintenance fees will be paid out by the City of Hamilton over the 30-year term. Over the 30-year term, the project will allow Hamilton to transfer risk in the processing and marketing of the biosolid pellets in the most efficient manner, providing fixed known costs over the term. The project was validated through a predetermined affordability threshold.

The new technology is projected to help significantly reduce the number of transport trucks required to remove biosolids from the Woodward Wastewater Treatment Plant and is expected to greatly improve odour and noise impacts in the community around Woodward.

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