Connecting Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Collection System: A Learning Experience Drawn from Quebec City's Story of Addressing CSOs

Quebec City, the capital of the province of Quebec in Canada, has adopted an integrated management approach in implementing its capital improvement projects to attain the environmental objectives. At the core of these projects is an integrated predictive control system that provides efficient management of the City's collection systems in connection with the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Over 10 years of operational experience has demonstrated the economic, social, environmental, and operational benefits of the integrated management approach.Beyond technical considerations, the success of the approach requires a change in operational philosophy, where the collection system and the WWTP operations become more integrated based on mutual conditions. The various stakeholders that are responsible for the daily operation and future development of the system need to be consulted and involved from the early design stage and take ownership to ensure long-term system evolution and sustainability.