The Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating has presented the Co-op Refinery Complex in Regina, Saskatchewan with its National Water Wise Award for the refinery’s wastewater improvement project.

“The co-op’s foresight, scope of work and cutting-edge practices surrounding its wastewater improvement project make it more than worthy of this acknowledgement,” said Joe Senese, CIPH Chairman. “This award is a modest gesture for a significant contribution to the City of Regina, as well as all of Western Canada.”

The project is a $200 million investment that was initiated following an expansion of the refinery in 2012. When fully commissioned later this year, the project will:

• Decrease reliance on raw water from the City of Regina aquifer by the equivalent of 3,100 households in Regina on an annual basis
• Recycle 100 percent of its wastewater on-site, the equivalent to 2 million gallons every day
• Significantly decrease volatile organic compound emissions from its wastewater ponds and reduce the associated nuisance odours
• Use a system of high efficiency reverse osmosis (HERO Mode) to clean refinery wastewater
• With the project fully operational – according to industry experts – the Co-op Refinery Complex will be the only North American refinery recycling all of its wastewater for steam production.

“The project demonstrates our commitment to being an industry leader in sustainability, which is a major part of our vision for the future of the refinery,” says Gil Le Dressay, vice president of refinery operations. “By implementing project and its leading edge technology, we enhance our operations, reduce our environmental impact and benefit our community. Needless to say, we’re very proud of this project.”  

The CIPH award program was developed to recognize outstanding efforts to improve our relationship with water. Past recipients of the CIPH Water Wise Award include WaterAid Canada, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, le Fonds Éco IGA and Fisheries & Marine Institute of Memorial University.

Visit www.ciph.com