Development of the First Wastewater Treatment Plant for Greater Victoria

The new McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant and its decades-long history are unique because most of the Greater Victoria area had never treated its wastewater. Canada's federal regulations, introduced in 2012, meant that the Capital Regional District needed a treatment plant up and running by the end of 2020. Now operational, the facility provides tertiary treatment for wastewater from the core area municipalities of Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, View Royal, Langford and Colwood, and the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. 

McLoughlin Point is an important public facility for Greater Victoria, situated at the entrance of Victoria’s Inner Harbour along a highly visible rocky shoreline. The facility’s subtle and responsive form, massing and materiality reflect its setting and natural surroundings. 

This plant was built by Harbour Resource Partners, a consortium of experienced firms including AECOM Canada, Graham Infrastructure, HDR, SUEZ, Graham Capital and Michels Canada. As part of this partnership, HDR was the architecture design lead, providing full architectural services, including an initial iterative design and siting selection process that obtained the planning approvals to move this project. 

Architectural elements include full architecture for a new operations building (including interiors), overall shell design for the plant and other enclosures, and site design including hardscape, tsunami walls and aesthetic components. 

The facility consists of two structures: a 2,322.58 m² operations and maintenance building and 6,967.72 m² treatment facility. The bulk of the plant is located at the west end of the site, along Victoria View Road, allowing the lower mass and refined design of the O&M building to provide a screen for the somewhat less elegantly realized treatment facility. The O&M building is stepped back as it rises, to further mitigate its perceived mass. 

The design includes considerable features that promote sustainability and energy efficiency. The O&M building has been built to LEED Gold design standards. Heat recovery will occur within the facility to provide heating for the O&M building with the opportunity to extend into the neighbourhood in the future. A green roof on the O&M building will help maintain onsite animal habitats and aid stormwater management on the prodigiously rocky site. 

A major component of the facility is the opportunity for public education on the water cycle, local natural environment and the importance of stormwater management. An education and interpretive space has been incorporated into the second floor of the O&M building to support public engagement. The education centre opens onto a rooftop terrace, offering views of the city and harbour.