Hupacasath’s Klehkoot reserve has about ten family homes and they have gone for about ten years without safe drinking water. The small size and remoteness of the reserve coupled with the high cost of building and maintaining water treatment systems were major hurdles to safe drinking water for the community.
“Hupacasath has always had issues with clean drinking water at our Klehkoot reserve and have looked at many options over the years. This passive membrane system has resolved a long-standing problem in getting our residents useable water. We were happy to work with UBC and NTC to pilot this project. We know more communities will also be able to use this system,” noted Chief Brandy Lauder Hupacasath First Nation, in a UBC publication.
According to UBC, it was in 2018 that they proposed a containerized Passive Membrane Potable Water Treatment Plant for the Klehkoot Reserve of the Hupacasath First Nation, supported in part by a Natural Science and Engineering Research Council grant; and a partnership with Indigenous Services Canada and the British Columbia First Nations Health Authority. The community had been without a reliable water treatment system for over a decade.
According to UBC, the system runs raw water through submerged ultrafiltration membranes, which removes bacteria, viruses and solids, without high pressure pumps. It uses gravity to drain the tanks, which generates a vacuum to backwash the membranes and draw in air for sparging, eliminating the need for motorized backwash cycles.
The innovative new system is low maintenance. “By relying on passive cleaning cycles and beneficial bacteria to consume organic impurities, the plant requires very little operator intervention, making it ideal for remote or marginalized communities,” said UBC in a newsletter.
The training and technology were transferred to the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council who have patented the technology. The new water treatment system at Hupacasath’s Klehkoot reserve has not only won a national award, but is also patented in both Canada and the U.S. by the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council
Canadian Society of Civil Engineers presented the NTC, UBC and ISC with the annual Excellence in Innovation in Civil Engineering award at a gala earlier this month.
According to NTC Director of Capital Programs, Doug Neff, the award recognized the partnership work completed by NTC, UBC, and ISC for the planning, design and development of a new technology for a Passive Membrane Water Treatment system that was constructed at Hupacasath’s Klehkoot reserve.
Neff acknowledged Hupacasath Chief and Council for their leadership and planning to develop a sustainable water system in Klehkoot. He thanks Al McAnerin, Hupacasath water operator, Aaron Humen NTC Capital Operations Manager, Matt Seitcher, NTC Capital Project Advisor 1 for implementation lead and coordination with UBC staff to monitor and maintain the system and performance data collection.
Also noted for their contributions to the project are Stephen Munce, NTC Capital Project Advisor 3 for operational support to Al McAnerin on the plant.
“NTC would like to thank UBC Civil Engineering for transferring this valuable patent to us after working together for years in developing this water membrane system. Clean drinking water on reserve has long been an issue especially for rural and remote reserves. This system is a good solution to help NTC communities tackle clean drinking water,” shared Cloy-e-iis Judith Sayers, President Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.
