cleaning up our sewage
Phosphorus pollution causes algae blooms on Lake Winnipeg – and Winnipeg’s North End Water Pollution Control Centre (NEWPCC) is the single-largest source of phosphorus to the lake.
NEWPCC’s environmental licence – granted by provincial officials in 2005 – set a phosphorus limit of 1 mg/L for treated wastewater being released to the Red River. In 2014, the City of Winnipeg missed the deadline for environmental compliance. Since that time, the provincial government has granted three extensions for NEWPCC upgrades, first to 2019, then to 2030, and most recently to 2032.
NEWPCC treats 70% of Winnipeg’s sewage, separating solid waste from liquid waste. The solid waste is treated to enable reuse, while the liquid waste is treated for release into the Red River and downstream to Lake Winnipeg.
annual average phosphorus concentration in NEWPCC effluent
Phosphorus concentrations (mg/L) in treated liquid waste released to the Red River have consistently exceeded NEWPCC's 1 mg/L licence limit since public reporting began.
While major upgrades are underway at the treatment plant, they aren’t scheduled to be completed until 2032 – and that’s assuming no further delays related to cost increases and construction schedules. In the meantime, the treatment plant continues to release excess phosphorus, feeding harmful algae blooms in Lake Winnipeg.
Despite the urgency of the issue, both levels of government continue to avoid taking responsibility for this pollution. Lake Winnipeg cannot wait for another round of promises. Meaningful progress requires the enforcement of proven phosphorus reduction measures.
the power of collective advocacy
To counteract this ongoing phosphorus pollution, LWF, our members, and our partners advocated for an interim phosphorus-reduction system at NEWPCC – an affordable retrofit that would enable the treatment plant to meet its phosphorus limit.
NEWPCC’s interim phosphorus-reduction system was proposed by LWF and our partners in 2018, mandated by the province in 2019, and approved by city council in 2022. Construction of the system was completed in 2024 – a significant milestone and the single most important step the City of Winnipeg has taken to protect Lake Winnipeg.
This interim phosphorus-reduction system uses the chemical ferric chloride to bind to phosphorus and pull it out of the liquid wastewater released to the Red River – a wastewater treatment solution widely used around the Great Lakes to reduce algae blooms. This same system was also used to meet phosphorus limits at Winnipeg’s south end treatment plant from 2023-2024.
what's next?
The interim phosphorus-reduction system has been running since June 2024, but it is still not being used to its full potential. The chemical ferric chloride, which is used to bind to phosphorus and pull it out of the liquid wastewater released to the Red River, is being dosed at only a fraction of the recommended rate.
Two ferric-chloride dosing points – called Location 3 and Location 4 – are currently being used at NEWPCC to capture phosphorus; at both locations, ferric-chloride doses are considerably lower than levels recommended in the original design.
we need your help!
It’s time to turn up the dial! Contact your city councillor and Manitoba’s environment minister to voice your concerns.
Excess phosphorus fuels harmful algal blooms in Lake Winnipeg, impacting water quality, ecosystems, and people’s experience of the lake. Delays in reducing phosphorus pollution mean these impacts will continue.
Our elected officials must ensure that interim phosphorus reduction is running at full capacity at the north end sewage treatment plant.
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why phosphorus?
LWF’s advocacy to reduce phosphorus pollution is guided by decades of whole ecosystem research at IISD Experimental Lakes Area.