Niagara Falls Water Treatment Plant - 2021 Summary Report

This report summarizes the water flows for the Niagara Falls Water Treatment Plant, drinking water system number 220002084, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2021.

This report satisfies the requirements of Ontario Regulation 170/03 - Drinking Water Systems.

Summary of non-compliance

The Niagara Falls Water Treatment Plant was found to be in non-compliance with regulations and/or system Licence, as follows:

Inspection rating

With consideration for the non-compliance noted below, the Niagara Falls Water Treatment Plant was granted a 99.34 per cent inspection rating during the 2021 - 2022 Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks annual drinking water system inspection.

Non-compliance

Niagara Region was found to be in non-compliance with section 15.2, Schedule B, of the water treatment plant's Municipal Drinking Water Licence which requires any alteration to any treatment subsystem to be incorporated into process flow diagrams, process and instrumentation diagrams, and record drawings and diagrams within one year of the alteration being completed or placed into service.

Event details

It was observed that the Region did not incorporate modifications, completed more than one year prior to the inspection date, into process flow diagrams, process and instrumentation diagrams, record drawings and diagrams for several projects.

Corrective actions

Staff have reviewed the requirements of section 15.2, Schedule B, of the Municipal Drinking Water Licence and have followed up with the local Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks inspector to seek clarification on requirements.

An internal procedure has been drafted which outlines the process for internal staff to ensure drawings, and other project deliverables, are completed within regulated timelines for projects originating from current and capital budgets. The procedure will be finalized once clarification from the inspector is received. To ensure awareness and prevent reoccurrence, training on the procedure will be conducted for relevant staff throughout the water and wastewater services division.

As a proactive approach, staff have reviewed modification records for the last five years for all water treatment plants and are in the process of drafting a plan to address deficiencies for all plants. This plan, the procedure, and associated training records will be provided to the inspector for review and acceptance once completed.

With consideration for required clarification, the original deadlines of Jan. 31, 2022 (procedure and plan development) and Feb. 28, 2022 (training) for this work have been lifted by the inspector. Staff will keep senior leadership and the inspector informed of progress.

Summary of water treatment plant flows

The flow rates captured below are moments in time, and can be affected by various circumstances, such as pump changes or valve position. It is not unusual to have higher or lower than normal flows for this reason.

Month	Total flow raw (ML)	Total flow treated (ML)	Average day raw (ML)	Average day treated (ML)	Minimum day treated (ML)	Maximum day treated (ML)	Minimum flow rate treated (ML/d)	Maximum flow rate treated (ML/d)	Total waste sludge (ML)
Jan.	1182.971	1072.557	38.160	34.599	31.344	38.863	0.062	61.614	1.404
Feb.	1058.268	969.115	37.795	34.611	28.330	40.405	13.327	58.600	3.179
March	1169.748	1099.411	37.734	35.465	31.912	38.999	0.062	56.818	0.683
April	1076.665	1020.415	35.889	34.014	31.152	37.689	7.541	54.000	0.760
May	1344.491	1265.264	43.371	40.815	32.862	54.760	0.067	77.705	0.760
June	1479.025	1386.422	49.301	46.214	34.121	56.645	21.109	73.722	0.760
July	1512.332	1336.091	48.724	46.072	38.850	55.285	0.072	91.153	0.733
Aug.	1757.208	1663.522	56.684	53.662	43.486	63.597	0.067	84.234	0.760
Sept.	1386.313	1298.075	46.210	43.269	35.881	55.170	0.057	69.636	0.565
Oct.	1283.295	1196.934	41.397	38.611	34.645	43.483	0.061	69.880	0.496
Nov.	1186.444	1105.778	39.548	36.859	33.442	40.364	0.050	57.007	0.548
Dec.	1219.742	1140.602	39.347	36.794	32.699	42.262	0.045	53.162	0.590

The flow rates are moments in time, and can be affected by various circumstances, such as pump changes or valve position and therefore not unusual to have higher or lower than normal flows.

Flow totals

Total flow raw was 15656.502 ML
Total flow treated was 14554.186 ML
Total waste sludge was 11.238 ML

Minimums

Minimum day treated was 28.330 ML
Minimum flow rate treated was 0.045 ML
Total waste sludge minimum was 0.496 ML

Maximums

Maximum day treated was 63.597 ML
Maximum flow rate treated was 91.153 ML
Total waste sludge maximum was 3.179 ML

Averages

Total flow treated average was 1212.849 ML
Total average day raw was 42.847 ML
Total average day treated was 40.082 ML
Total waste sludge average was 0.937 ML

Comparison of actual to system approved flow

Flow rates are required by Municipal Drinking Water Licence number 007-202.

Maximum daily flow: 44.000 ML
Maximum flow rate: 44.000 ML/day

Month	Average day treated (ML)	Per cent of average day treated rated capacity	Maximum day treated (ML)	Per cent of maximum day treated rated capacity	Maximum flow rate treated (ML/d)	Per cent of maximum flow rate rated capacity
Jan.	34.599	23.8%	38.863	26.7%	61.614	42.3%
Feb.	34.611	23.8%	40.405	27.8%	58.600	40.3%
March	35.465	24.4%	38.999	26.8%	56.818	39.1%
April	34.014	23.4%	37.689	25.9%	54.000	37.1%
May	40.815	28.1%	54.760	37.6%	77.705	53.4%
June	46.214	31.8%	56.645	38.9%	73.722	50.7%
July	46.072	31.7%	55.285	38.0%	91.153	62.6%
Aug.	53.662	36.9%	63.597	43.7%	84.234	57.9%
Sept.	43.269	29.7%	55.170	37.9%	69.636	47.9%
Oct.	43.269	26.5%	43.483	29.9%	69.880	48.0%
Nov.	36.859	25.3%	40.364	27.7%	57.007	39.2%
Dec.	36.794	25.3%	32.699	22.5%	53.162	36.5%