Company funds majority of $12.5-million effluent treatment plant, city gets to use leftover water
By Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun September 7, 2012Shell Canada and the city of Dawson Creek have teamed up to build an effluent treatment facility at Dawson Creek that eliminates the oil and gas company’s need for Peace River water at its nearby Groundbirch natural gas venture.
The new plant, which was officially opened Friday, will conserve up to 4,000 cubic metres of water a day at Shell’s hydraulic fracturing operations, Dawson Creek mayor Mike Bernier said Friday.
Shell invested more than $11 million in the project while the city provided $1.5 million. The total cost is estimated at $12 to $13 million. The water, said Bernier, is almost as clean as the city’s tap water.
