Artelia wins major contract to bring the Saint-Hyacinthe wastewater treatment plant up to code

Commissioned in 1987, the Saint-Hyacinthe wastewater treatment plant is an essential piece of infrastructure for treating the city’s wastewater. Recognized as Quebec’s agri-food capital, Saint-Hyacinthe supports a significant industrial base whose activities generate substantial wastewater treatment needs. In this context, modernizing the plant is necessary to accommodate the region’s growth, meet the population’s future needs, and maintain the facilities’ environmental performance.

A Major Upgrade to the Facilities

Currently treating an average flow of approximately 45 million liters of water per day, the wastewater treatment plant will see its capacity increased to 70 million liters per day. This increase will meet the city’s needs for decades to come while ensuring compliance with environmental requirements for discharges into the Yamaska River.

The project includes, in particular:

• The construction of two new aeration tanks
• The addition of two new secondary settling tanks
• The addition of a final UV disinfection stage, with the equipment housed in a new building
• The demolition and replacement of the blower building
• Upgrading the equipment in the existing clarifiers
• Installing structures to reduce odor emissions, notably by covering certain basins and adding an air treatment system
• Various improvements to existing buildings and civil engineering structures

These measures will not only increase the facilities’ treatment capacity but also improve their reliability, environmental performance, and integration into the surrounding environment.

A large-scale and complex project

Carrying out this project poses a significant technical challenge due to the number of structures involved, the need to keep the facilities operational during construction, and the duration of the project. Several phases of work will need to be carried out in a specific sequence to ensure the continuity of wastewater treatment throughout the project, which will continue until 2029.

Being awarded this contract demonstrates the City of Saint-Hyacinthe’s renewed confidence in our teams and highlights how our complementary areas of expertise enable us to support the development of infrastructure that is essential to communities’ quality of life and to environmental protection.