Project Profile: City of Estevan MBWS™ Demo
The City of Estevan MBWS™️ is an excellent example of using constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment. The Demo uses the nature-based MAGNA Biofilter Wetland System to treat wastewater efficiently and in a cost-effective manner.
Project Context
Estevan is a city in southern Saskatchewan, situated along the Souris River. The City relies on a single wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) to process the community’s wastewater. The facility operates as a modified sequencing batch reactor (MSBR) with a storage capacity of 180 days.
Treated wastewater is discharged into constructed surface flow wetlands located south of the site. Originally designed to treat and ensure high quality cooling water for reuse needs, these wetlands no longer function as intended.
In response to this, the City looked into alternative discharge solutions for their treated wastewater. The Souris River was deemed to be the most viable discharge option. However, upgrades to the treatment process are required because the current MSBR does not comply with river discharge regulations.
MAGNA’s Solution
The City engaged MAGNA to conduct a feasibility study and concept design for the potential upgrade of the existing MSBR WWTF. The study assessed traditional mechanical technologies and compared them with nature-based solutions.
The objectives of the study were to evaluate the cost-effectiveness, financial sustainability, and operational complexity of each solution for the Estevan context.
Based on the report findings, the City chose to integrate a demo MAGNA Biofilter Wetland System (MBWS™) as a screened effluent and polishing treatment into the existing facility. The demo will offer insight of scaling parameters for future full-scale implementation.
“MAGNA’s wastewater treatment system will be the first of its kind in our province. This design also comes with considerable long-term operations cost savings for our community. We couldn’t be happier with the results.”