Follow the Drop – Industrial Operations
Have you ever considered how the food and beverage processing industry is dependent on water? Water from the Bow River is used for many types of food processing in Alberta including beef, chicken, dairy products, fish, beer, canola oil and pop1
As a drop of water in this industry, you will likely be used for washing and cleaning, but you may also become an input into a product, for example, in beer production.
The water quality impact of food processing depends on the type of processing being done. In meat processing, for example, wastewater typically has high levels of total suspended solids (TSS), biological oxygen demand (BOD)Definition: biological oxygen demandBiological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is a measurement of the amount of oxygen that is consumed by microbes and bacteria in the water, chemical oxygen demand (COD)Definition: chemical oxygen demandChemical Oxygen Demand (COD) is a measurement of the amount of oxygen that can react with chemicals in the water, and fats, oils, and greases (FOG).
Despite the high level of contaminants that can be produced during food and beverage processing, wastewater released to the watershed must meet certain government regulated water quality standards. Specifically, “it must be treated to levels that will not damage receiving waters due to excessive nutrients or oxygen demand when directly discharged”2. Water that cannot be safely returned to the watershed because it is heavily contaminated may be injected into the ground through a very deep well. The geology formations surrounding these wells ensure the water will not contaminate other groundwater resources.
Now that you know what happens in food and beverage processing, it’s time to make your next decision: do you want to return to the River after being used for washing, become food, or go to a deep well disposal.
Lower Bow RiverFoodDeep Well Disposal
- Alberta Food Processors Association. (n.d.). Alberta Food Processors Association. Retrieved May 25, 2020, from https://www.afpa.com/
- Water technology Online. (2018, August 31). Wastewater treatment challenges in food processing and agriculture. Retrieved May 25, 2020, from https://www.watertechonline.com/wastewater/article/15550688/wastewater-treatment-challenges-in-food-processing-and-agriculture