Teck’s third water treatment facility in the Elk Valley has come online, with the company touting a capacity of treating up to 20 million litres of water per day.
According to Teck officials, the Fording River South Active Water Treatment Facility will help remove selenium and nitrate from water at the mining company’s operations in the upper Fording River.
The company said its water treatment plants can remove about 95% of selenium and nitrate from the water that passes through them.
Construction on the facility was finished in December 2021 and has begun ramping up to full capacity.
“The completion of this major new treatment facility is an important step forward in ensuring the environment is protected,” said Robin Sheremeta, Senior Vice President, Coal. “With this new treatment capacity, we expect to achieve one of the primary objectives of the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan: stabilizing and reducing the selenium trend in the Elk Valley.”
The mining company also announced that it has completed construction on phase 1 of its fourth water treatment facility in the region.
Teck anticipates a total water treatment capacity of 77.5 million litres of water per day after the completion of the fourth facility.