Sewer System

Sewer System

The Town of Kapuskasing owns and operates the Waste Water Treatment Plant. The Public Works Department is responsible for the safe and efficient operation and maintenance of the wastewater collection system.

Treatment Process

The plant, which employs the extended aeration process, is designed to treat an average daily sewage flow of 2 million Imperial gallons. Flows of up to 6 million gallons per day can be accommodated for short periods of time, such as occur during rainstorms or spring thaws.

Raw sewage enters the plant and is passed through the grit removal facilities which eliminates most inorganic material, including rags, small pieces of wood and other objects, by means of mechanical screening and gravity settling. Two lift pumps, each with a maximum capacity of 4,200 gallons per minute, then pump the sewage to aeration tanks. Relatively new in this application, these pumps are based on the Archimedes Screw Flow principle, which saves considerably on power or energy costs.

The homogenous solution which is now directed from the aeration tanks to the two final clarifiers is referred to as "mixed liquor". The biological treatment is essentially completed at this time and the mixed liquor is clarified or settled by gravity in the final clarifiers. The clarified effluent is then discharged into the chlorine contact chamber, disinfected, and finally discharged in purified form.

The solids portion of the mixed liquor, or sludge, settles to the bottom of the clarifier where it is collected and returned to the aeration tanks to maintain the biological purification process.

The excess solids or waste sludge that accumulate during this latter process are routinely removed from the system, directed into a digester where it is stabilized aerobically with the introduction of more oxygen. This "digested sludge" is then hauled by truck to farms in the Kapuskasing vicinity where it is utilized as a soil conditioner or fertilizer.

Questions and issues relating to wastewater infrastructure should be directed to the Public Works Department.