Nason, a subsidiary of Bird, has completed the construction of the new water treatment plant in Drayton Valley to replace the aging existing facility. The plant is able to produce 18 million litres of fresh water per day — more than doubling the previous capacity.

The new facility features an ultra-filtration membrane process complete with distribution pumping and full facility back-up power system along with an attached operations and administration building. The majority of the work was self-performed using Nason’s in-house trades, including mechanical process, electrical, HVAC and plumbing, instrumentation, PLC programming and carpentry. The building design for the new treatment plant consists of many sustainable features, such as a green roof system, solar photovoltaic array, and an HVAC system that uses a solar wall for outside air pre-heating and a heat exchanger on the raw water piping for building cooling.

An important aspect to the project was the smooth transition from the existing system to the new. The team worked closely with both the design consultant and Drayton Valley to ensure that the new treatment process was commissioned without impacting the community’s water supply. A detailed commissioning and communication plan for the residents of Drayton Valley was an essential element in successfully transitioning the affected community to the new water supply.