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French Creek Pollution Control Centre

Wastewater from approximately 27,000 people and businesses in Qualicum Beach, Parksville and the service areas of French Creek, Pacific Shores, Surfside and Barclay Crescent flows to FCPCC. FCPCC also treats trucked waste from homes with septic systems and holding tanks.

FCPCC currently provides Secondary Treatment with Trickling Filters to remove more than 90% of biological oxygen demand and total suspended solids and comply with provincial and federal environmental regulations. Treated effluent is discharged into the Salish Sea at a depth of 61 m, 2,440 m offshore. Biosolids produced are used in the RDN's Forest Fertilization Project. To learn more, visit our Treatment Processes and Biosolids pages.

Expansion and Odour Upgrades

The RDN is planning a $33 million expansion and odour upgrade to meet the needs of a growing population and address odours. The expansion and upgrade will:

• increase plant capacity by about 30%
• meet the service area demands to the year 2035
• improve operational efficiency and replace aging infrastructure in the existing plant
• incorporate extensive odour control upgrades for the existing plant as well as odour controls for the expansion site.

The project has an estimated completion date of early 2022.

For more information, please visit the project website on the RDN Get Involved page.

Past Projects and Improvements

Past projects and improvements include:

2009-2011	Upgrade and forcemain twinning at the Lee Road Pump Station
2007-2008	Installed Solids Contact Tank and Trickling Filter, replacing activated sludge
2005	Commissioned fourth digester, increasing plant capacity
1999	Odour control strategy implemented
1994-1997	Upgrades to double the plant's capacity and improve the quality of effluent and Biosolids
1977	Built using Secondary Treatment with activated sludge technology, ending the discharge of raw sewage to the Strait of Georgia