Ontario needs more ‘poo’ power: environmental commissioner

Municipal water systems use huge amounts of power and the hidden energy in sewage could be put to productive use, report says.

Thestar.com
May 30, 2017
By Rob Ferguson

Ontario needs more “poo” power, says Environmental Commissioner Dianne Saxe.

The province’s municipal water systems, for both drinking and sewage, are energy-hogs but can turn the tables with some smart investments to reduce consumption, improve conservation and make bio-gas from human and food waste, Saxe wrote in a new report Tuesday.

“Many can become renewable energy centres that capture the hidden energy in sewage, and put it to productive use,” Saxe said of wastewater treatment plants.

“Bio-gas from sewage can offer renewable, low-carbon energy, replacing fossil fuels for heating, for electricity generation and for transportation,” she added after publishing “Every Drop Counts,” her annual report on energy conservation.

“To create even more bio-gas, wastewater plants could process food-type wastes along with the sewage. This would also keep food-type wastes out of landfills, where they release methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.”

About 30 wastewater plants in the province are large enough to make bio-gas production viable through anaerobic digestion, Saxe told a news conference.

“It can make financial sense.”

Toronto, London and Simcoe County are considering such systems, while Hamilton now fuels some buses with bio-gas from human sewage and Waterloo is making bio-gas from dog feces.
In response to the report from Saxe, Glen Murray’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change said extreme weather patterns, population growth and future development will put “increased pressure” on water sources.

“Her advice is clear: we will need to do a better job of managing what resources we have. We agree and will be looking at new ways to improve Ontario’s already robust water conservation and environmental protection policies.”

On average, drinking water and wastewater treatment plants account for 38 per cent of a municipality’s energy use - a huge proportion, Saxe said.

Most were designed in an era when energy costs were not a consideration, but should now be redesigned with full “life-cycle” costs in mind as governments upgrade infrastructure, she added.

“This gives Ontario municipalities a once-in-a-generation opportunity to cut the energy and environmental footprints of their water and wastewater systems.”

Energy could also be saved by reducing leaks in municipal water systems - as much as 30 to 40 per cent in some areas - and by shifting electricity use away from peak periods when it is most costly, she said.

As the need for water conservation becomes more prevalent, municipalities should find smarter ways to deliver water for different purposes, noting that pure drinking water isn’t needed to water lawns, for example, Saxe said.

“As you saw from last year’s drought, we have to get serious about water conservation,” Saxe said. “Little of the treated water is used for purposes that require potable water.”

California, Israel and Singapore have “extensive programs” to re-use treated effluent from wastewater plants, Saxe noted. In Israel, 80 per cent of waste water is re-used, mainly to irrigate crops through special pipelines and recycled water costs 75 per cent less than drinking water.

“Some Ontario municipalities are interested in water reuse, but are held back by the lack of clear provincial policies,” she said in the 142-page report.

Saxe also recommended water meters for apartment, condo and other multi-unit residential buildings to encourage conservation in each residence, and urged Ontarians to buy water-efficient toilets, faucets and shower heads.

Reducing outdoor water use should also be a priority, said Saxe, encouraging changes to building codes allowing expanded use of separate “grey-water” plumbing systems in homes that would, for example, allow water used in showers, baths and laundry to be “recycled” for flushing toilets.

The report is critical of provincial regulations that require sewage plants to use large amounts of electricity - five times more than usual - to achieve small phosphorous reductions when cleaning up urban and agricultural runoff into rivers and lakes would reduce levels more at a lower cost.