Natural Wastewater Treatment for the Haliburton Highlands Fish Hatchery

In 2005, the H.H.O.A formed a partnership with Fleming College’s Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment and members of the conservation community in Haliburton County to develop, install and monitor an engineered constructed wetland to treat aquaculture effluent from the Haliburton Fish Hatchery.  Currently, the wastewater flows through a series of settling ponds and the constructed wetlands help to treat the water to an even higher environmental standard.  The primary objective of this project is to demonstrate the practicality of constructed wetlands for the natural treatment and rehabilitation of aquacultural waste water in the Canadian climate.  The success of the project will be indicated not only by the anticipated quality achieved in the treated wastewater, but also in the educational value of the project and the degree to which constructed wetlands are considered in future as alternatives to traditional wastewater treatment.  Grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Haliburton Highlands Stewardship Council and the Haliburton County Development Corporation have made this constructed wetland project possible.  This on-going project continues to be developed and monitored through Fleming College’s Office for Applied Research and the students and teachers involved with the Fleming’s dedicated research facility The Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment.

System Components

The wetland design for the H.H.O.A Fish Hatchery includes two horizontal treatment cells, each planted with different species to compare treatment effiiciencies of native Ontario plants.  The first flush of lake trout raceway aquaculture wastewater is collected in a septic tank where it is fed to the wetland cells in batches by an on-demand pump.  Due to volume constraints, additional wastewater other than that with the most concentrated fish waste is routed to the existing settling ponds.  The design of the wetland cells includes a boardwalk to encourage exploration of the wetland and facilitate educational opportunities.

Project Partners and Supporters:

Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association
Haliburton Highlands Secondary School
County of Haliburton
Environment Haliburton!
Haliburton-Kawartha-Pine Ridge Health Unit
Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment
Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations
Haliburton Highlands Stewardship Council
Trent University
Municipality of Dysart et al.
Ministry of Natural Resources-Minden
Ontario Stewardship- Peterborough
U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research
Haliburton County Development Corporation

For more information on this and other Canadian alternative wastewater treatment projects, visit the CAWT Project Registry