CANADA: Oil industry pumped about our sewer water

by FRANK LANDRY (CITY HALL BUREAU)

Who knew dirty toilet water could be such a hot commodity?

As strange as it may seem, Edmonton's wastewater may be just what it takes to quench the oil industry's growing thirst for H20, say officials.

Petro-Canada already uses five million litres a day of the city's membrane-treated sewage at its Strathcona County refinery. There are now plans on the books to ramp up the supply to 15 million litres a day by October - making it the largest municipal-industrial water recycling program in Canada.

And city officials say there is plenty more where that came from - should other oil giants be interested. It's possible there would be a day when none of our treated sewage would end up in the river," said John Hodgson, the city's manager of drainage services.

The city processes more than 200 million litres of wastewater daily, including residential and industrial waste. Most ends up back in the North Saskatchewan River.

More than $5.5 million has been budgeted this year to upgrade the water recycling facility at the Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant. Petro-Canada uses the clean water to produce hydrogen, and for general refining purposes - such as steam production and cooling.

With plans for several new upgraders in the Edmonton area, industry will need access to millions of litres of water a day for processing.

"It will become the issue for the region," said Coun. Mike Nickel. "If you put all those upgraders together and they're going to suck it up from the North Saskatchewan - I'm going to be concerned, just from an environmental perspective."

Chris Dawson, Petro-Canada spokesman, said the company is interested in using the recycled water at an upgrader planned for Sturgeon County.

"It's great for the environment, it's great for business, and if at all possible, we'd really like to pull off something in Sturgeon County," Dawson said.