Introducing the Lagoon Augmentation - MAGNA Biofilter Wetland System

Alberta Communities are Facing a Drought Crisis

The Province of Alberta is anticipating a severe drought event this summer. Based on climate resiliency projections, drought mitigation is required for long term sustainability of water systems.

While much of society is looking at how to access more source water as our precious waterways experience extreme low-flow conditions, municipalities have an even larger burden of concern around their wastewater.

Impact on Lagoons

Many Alberta communities use lagoons as their wastewater treatment and storage facility, typically designed with a one-year storage capacity for seasonal discharge fcilities.

Discharging treated wastewater from lagoon poses an increased risk to the health of receiving stream if their flows are significantly impacted by drought.

There is increasing concern regarding receiving stream quality within the province for the upcoming dry season.

MAGNA’s solution: The LA-MBWS

The Lagoon Augmentation - MAGNA Biofilter Wetland System (LA-MBWS) is a modular engineered wetland polishing system proposed as an addition to existing lagoons in small communities. This new technology will provide improvements to the current system’s effluent, allowing communities to continuously discharge, decreasing the impact on receiving streams.

The LA-MBWS is a refined and small scale application of MAGNA’s MBWS, the first of which is currently in operation in Leslieville, Alberta (Clearwater County). This system is composed of a Vertical Flow Biofilter (VFB), Horizontal Subsurface Flow Wetland (HSSF), and a Phosphorous Treatment Cell (Phos. Cell).