The District of Sooke is considering a new centrifuge system to deal with the town’s increasing amount of sludge.
Talks of replacing the existing centrifuge circled between district staff, mayor and council for the last two years, as the existing unit had “operational issues” since installation and did not meet the district’s controlled waste permit requiring no more than 80 per total moisture.
A new centrifuge, built by Drycake Vanderbeken, is meant to produce 20 per cent dryness “with the possibility of exceeding it” as a similar installation has in Ladysmith, said a staff report.
The original and existing Pieralisi centrifuge was installed during plant construction for EPCOR by Vanderbeken, which was chosen once again as the successful proponent to install the unit at a cost of $171,650. The district expects this contract ($158,250), combined with the replacement of pumps ($13,400) “will be within the budget” allocated for the project ($200,000).
Some concerns, however, rose from council as the flowing capacity with the new centrifuge, which is physically smaller, may not be adequate for the town’s sludge output. In addition, Coun. Bev Berger said that while previous installations may have been the best value, they may not be the right product or quality for the district’s needs.
“We’ve had problems with certain pumps and centrifuges in our system. We seem to be replacing parts where maybe we went with the best value before and it wasn’t the best quality,” she said, questioning why Stantec, a consulting firm hired by the district, recommended the district to contact Ladysmith to verify the system’s performance before proceeding with install.
The district’s director of development services, Rob Howatt, said what’s being proposed here will “comfortably and adequately” handle the district’s flows.
Howatt also highlighted the importance of replacing the current unit, which is already at 72 per cent capacity.
“Some of the working parts down there weren’t well maintained, and because of its age, it’s imperative to get this new product as fast as we can,” he said. “If that centrifuge goes down, we’re in trouble.”
When replaced, the existing centrifuge would be kept as a backup, but would need some adequate storage.
Council told staff to gather more info and bring a report back for further review.