Fort Liard, Northwest Territories
Produced Water Treatment and Discharge
ShockWater accomplished a first in Canada by successfully treating a produced water tailings pond to levels allowing for aquatic discharge and release into a sensitive area. The remote site required crews and equipment to travel upriver by barge, followed by a difficult 31 km drive.
Onsite crews treated the contaminated water using electrocoagulation (EC), media filtration, hollow fiber membranes (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), and carbon filtration. ShockWater's proprietary EC and combination RO system ensured the water could be treated in a very remote location without the need of additional chemical loadings.
Boron levels increased as the tailings pond water levels dropped, eventually exceeding the performance specifications of the membrane manufacturer. Because of this development, ShockWater completed a significant pH adjustment to the boron, turning it into boric acid and borates and increasing separation performance.
ShockWater reduced the influent water’s TDS of 34,000 mg/L to less than 60 mg/L for Aquatic CCME surface discharge. Onsite crews completed treatment and discharge before the river became too low for barge operations, ensuring an efficient project timeline for the client.
- Established the first water treatment plant setup of its kind in extremely remote conditions
- Treated 5,500 m3 of total fluids
- Treated 300 m3 of fluids per day
- Utilized 5 discharge points for safe release into a sensitive area
