Project Background
Quebec City relies on two water treatment plants to purify 400,000 m³ of domestic and industrial wastewater per day, with Quebec City’s East End plant managing roughly 60 % of the volume. While the treated water would usually be sent back into the St. Lawrence River as effluent, water solutions company H₂O Innovation has developed a system that brings a part of the plant’s water back to potable levels – a first in Canada. The system is part of the sustainability project Carrefour de l’eau, which aims to turn Quebec City into a leader in the field of water recycling, treatment and sanitation.
A Pioneering Treatment Approach
The self-contained system is housed inside a trailer and is fully automated, allowing it to be positioned wherever it is needed and to be monitored and controlled remotely. Using treatment methods such as ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet advanced oxidation, it is capable of removing micropollutants such as PFAS from the plant’s wastewater and turning it into an unconventional, yet high-quality source of potable water. GF supplied the necessary valves for the treatment process as well as automation solutions.
By leveraging cutting-edge technology from sponsors such as GF, H₂O Innovation is advancing research to secure the world’s water supply and raising awareness for this issue. “Water reuse is something that should be done everywhere,” comments Guillaume Clairet, Chief Operating Officer at H₂O Innovation. “Resources are always limited, and it is important to incorporate unconventional resources like wastewater in order to have a circular water economy. GF is helping us achieve the greater goal of bringing water reuse to the forefront of treatment practices.”
