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Clearford (TSX-V:CLI) is a provider of unified water management solutions for the design, deployment, finance and operation of water infrastructure systems.
Clearford, Clearford logo, Sanitation Reinvented, Water Managed, Small Bore Sewer, SBS, Clearford One, ClearDigest, ClearConvey, ClearRecover, P4P, and P4P logo are registered trademarks in Canada of Clearford Water Systems Inc. Other trademarks of Clearford Water Systems include: M-brane.
UV Pure, UV Pure logo, Crossfire Technology, Crossfire Technology logo, and Hallett logo are registered trademarks in Canada and USA of UV Pure Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Clearford Water Systems Inc. Other trademarks of UV Pure include: Hallett, Upstream, Cactus, and 'Pure Safe Water, Always.'
Located just outside of Amenia, NY, Silo Ridge is an 800-acre private lifestyle community of 250 homes with a golf club, two restaurants, an equestrian center, a winery, and a community centre. The development required year-round wastewater treatment for its facilities meeting strict discharge limits to protect the high priority receiving waterbody, the Cascade Amenia Brook.
The project developer was working on a tight timeline to get the new treatment plant approved and constructed, with additional challenges related to infrastructure financing and phasing. Within three weeks, Clearford Koester Canada developed the framework for a unique solution that encompassed financing and delivery for the design and build of an advanced membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant.
To meet the aggressive project timeline, Clearford undertook in parallel the design, approvals and manufacturing of the MBR plant. This was made possible by configuring the plant as easy-to-ship modules that were built off-site while the detailed design and approval applications were being made. Modules consisting of modified shipping containers and precast concrete tanks were prefabricated at Clearford’s manufacturing facility, and the entire plant was delivered to site within 10 weeks.
The MBR design incorporates advanced treatment and automation technologies for reliability and ease of operation. Clearford selected innovative flat-sheet membranes—the first municipal sewage application for the technology—to filter contaminants from the wastewater. Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection eliminates potentially harmful bacteria and microorganisms in the treated effluent. Variable-frequency drives allow adjustments to the operation of mechanical equipment to meet the flow and treatment requirements as they vary throughout the day.
Clearford M-brane treatment plant at Silo Ridge, New York.
The Government of India has identified toilets for schools as one of the country’s highest priorities. While the construction of toilet blocks is relatively straightforward, it is the long-term management of concentrated sewage at school sites that poses the biggest challenge.
Extensive field studies have shown that problems arising from construction of soak pits lead to adverse environmental impacts and significantly decrease the use of toilets.
Clearford One presents an ideal solution to realize the goal of sustainable school toilets across India. A specially designed Clearford One packaged system provides a complete low maintenance end-to-end solution for rural and urban school toilets. The modular design also allows for easy installation and expansion over time.
Pricing for the modular Clearford One Sanitation for Schools package is based on the number of students served at the school. This approach allows for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) departments to maximize the impact of their CSR budgets to install a turnkey and sustainable solution. Clearford India will work with you to deliver your CSR commitments for years to come.
“I call upon the corporate sector also to give priority to the provision of toilets in schools with your expenditure under Corporate Social Responsibility. […] within one year […] we should be in a firm position to announce that there is no school in India without separate toilets for boys and girls.”
—Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Independence Day Speech, August 15, 2014
Click here to download the Jambudiyapura Case Study [PDF].
The first Clearford One system in India is operating in Jambudiyapura, making it the first open-defecation free tribal village in Gujarat. Complete wastewater servicing was constructed in 2015-16 for 53 homes including new washroom facilities, Clearford’s proprietary sanitary sewer system and a low-maintenance treatment facility.
The project was funded by the Corporate Social Responsibly (CSR) budget for the local Gujarat Road and Infrastructure Company Limited (GRICL)—a subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), one of India’s largest infrastructure companies. The village was recently serviced with communal drinking water and electricity, however, a new public health problem emerged of greywater ponding near homes. Meanwhile, safety concerns over traditional open-defecation practices remained unaddressed.
Clearford India was selected to deliver sanitary servicing to the village within a strict budget for construction. IL&FS recognized that conventional sewers would not be a sustainable solution because of low water usage in the village—solids would accumulate and choke the sewers. Clearford’s unique small bore sewer design eliminates that problem and uses sealed pipes to prevent contamination of soils and groundwater.
Private washroom buildings were designed to meet the villagers’ needs for washing, bathing and toilet use. Wastewater from each bathroom is collected in a ClearDigest tank that settles solids and starts to break down the waste. The liquid portion is conveyed by gravity through ClearConvey sewers to the ClearRecover facility.
Treatment is provided by a CAMUS-SBT constructed wetland by Vision Earth Care Pvt. Ltd (VEC). This proven soil biotechnology was developed by the Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai. The final discharge will be released to an approved drainage ditch through neighbouring farmland, where effluent quality will meet all Indian Government regulations.
The successful installation of Clearford One in Jambudiyapura is a clear demonstration that sustainable sanitation can be delivered to thousands of villages throughout Gujarat and all of India.
Click here to download the Fetherston Park Case Study [PDF].
Fetherston Park is a 41 unit rural residential community in North Grenville, Ontario, serviced by private onsite water infrastructure that was constructed in stages starting around 1970. The original buried infrastructure included a small drinking water treatment plant and distribution pipe network, sanitary sewers, and five communal septic systems with leaching fields.
After decades of poor maintenance and inadequate management of sewers and septic systems, there were significant operational issues with the existing infrastructure that required a complete replacement of the onsite wastewater infrastructure. The owner did not undertake the required work, and eventually residents were issued a notice that the Park must close due to public health and environmental concerns related to the failed wastewater system unless a suitable technical and financial solution was found.
Clearford Water Systems, through its wholly owned subsidiary Clearford Water Utility (Fetherston) Inc., entered into agreements with the Municipality and the Park to fund, design, construct, and operate the Park’s entire water and wastewater infrastructure for a 30 year term.
The Clearford One system was configured to meet the needs and topography of the Park to transport wastewater by gravity to a packaged M-brane™ facility manufactured in a shipping container by Koester Canada. The treated effluent meets very high water quality standards—enough for discharge to a seasonal dry ditch on the site that enters an environmentally-sensitive watershed.
“The Clearford One decentralized communal wastewater collection and treatment system delivers a complete servicing solution. The system’s packaged approach provides flexibility when retrofitting existing sites and allows for easy expansion as developments grow. Clearford One was an affordable solution presented for this project and literally saved Fetherston Park.”
– Karen Dunlop, Director of Public Works for Municipality of North Grenville
Clearford One commissioning ceremony at Fetherston Park in North Grenville, Ontario.
From left to right: Peter Rupcic and Richard Nie, Koester Canada; Karen Dunlop, Director of Public Works, and David Gordon, Mayor, North Grenville; Kevin Loiselle, Clearford Water Systems; Maurice Dumoulin, Fetherston Mobile Park Association; and Brian J. Carré, Chief Administrative Officer, North Grenville.
When the opportunity arose to purchase a small airport and develop the surrounding lands in the City of Ottawa, West Capital Developments had a clear vision for a unique residential, business and recreational community near the Village of Carp.
A major hurdle in the development was devising an affordable decentralized water infrastructure servicing plan that would be approved by the City and regulatory agencies for the site near the Ottawa River with high water table. When the private-lot well servicing option was eliminated due to poor groundwater quality, the design team pursed a communal water and wastewater servicing strategy.
Clearford’s Small Bore Sewer (SBS) technology became a core component of that strategy, providing collection and pre-treatment of wastewater from 329 new homes constructed in phases. SBS was evaluated to have reduced sanitary flow (less infiltration and lower peaking factor), the lowest overall servicing cost, and less maintenance required than communal septic system and conventional sewer options.
The Lakepoint Village subdivision development near Orillia, Ontario is an adult lifestyle community with a clubhouse and approximately 300 new homes implemented in three phases. The developer was seeking a cost effective and eco-friendly solution for building communal water infrastructure at the site, which has difficult soil conditions and shallow groundwater in addition to being located less than a kilometer away from the shore of environmentally sensitive Lake Simcoe.
Because of the location of the development, the community would have to be serviced by decentralized infrastructure. The municipality did not want to own and operate the infrastructure, so the developer proceeded with private sewage works for the site consisting of a Clearford Small Bore Sewer (SBS) system and onsite wastewater treatment with subsurface drip disposal.
In addition to providing a technical solution for wastewater servicing, Clearford arranged a capital cost financing solution that allowed the project to proceed through the first phase of construction.
“Clearford project financing allowed Alliance Homes to complete this project.”
– Alex Troop, President of Alliance Homes
The Colborne Industrial Park in Cramahe Township is located along busy Highway 401 between Toronto and Kingston. While evaluating the proposed expansion of the The Big Apple local attraction, the Township Council decided to initiate communal sanitary servicing in the area to eliminate reliance on privately owned septic leaching beds and to help stimulate economic development in the Industrial Park.
After considerable research, Council chose to install a Clearford wastewater solution instead of a conventional ‘big pipe’ sewer system in order to use less capacity in the downstream municipal sewers and treatment facility, and to phase expenditures for capital costs in an environment of slow economic growth.
The Clearford Small Bore Sewer (SBS) network was installed using horizontal directional drilling along the edge of the road to avoid disrupting traffic, and existing septic tanks for each property were reused and connected to the new sewers.
In the 15 years since initial construction, the Industrial Park has accommodated the expansion and addition of eight local businesses.
“The Cramahe SBS installation and its successful performance to date are a testament to the integrity of this cost-effective solution for industrial park development and expansion applications. Traditional full-size gravity sewer was considered by Council to be beyond the financial means of the municipality and your Small Bore Sewer system was chosen as an alternative because installation costs were lower, and weeping beds would still be eliminated. The SBS system has been in operation for over a year and is performing without any problems. I would recommend that this system be considered as an option any time sewers are required and constraints such as ours exist.”
– Barry Thrasher, P. Eng., Public Works Director for Township of Cramahe
Loon Lake Resort is a 164‑unit condo corporation and waterfront resort community near Madoc, Ontario. Many of the existing septic systems were failing in 2006, threatening to contaminate a small spring-fed lake and restricting the corporation’s plans to expand the park. With a limited budget, the community began researching affordable wastewater servicing options that would not adversely affect the park’s busy summer season.
The Resort decided to implement a low-cost Small Bore Sewer (SBS) collection system and onsite treatment technology with subsurface disposal. Clearford was awarded a contract to design, supply, and install the complete SBS system including installation of the Bergmann wastewater treatment system and leaching field (design by Jagger‑Hims Ltd).
The result is a wastewater system that the Resort can operate itself with minimal maintenance and half the operating cost of a conventional sewer system.
“The SBS solution exceeded our expectations on many levels. It was by far the most practical and economical alternative available. It was installed with minimal disruption to our residents and our environment, and it has been operating very well for us to date. I believe that Clearford’s SBS technology is ideally suited for campground and mobile home park owners, who are seeking to build, enhance or expand their wastewater systems.”
– Peter Cougler, President of Loon Lake Resort
Click here to view an article about White Tail Ridge from OOWA Onsite Newsletter [PDF].
The White Tail Ridge project outside of Almonte, Ontario depended on finding a suitable wastewater servicing solution for the proposed 90 home subdivision. The municipal wastewater treatment lagoon was already operating near capacity, but the developer’s engineering team provided supporting information to the municipality that the lagoon’s capacity would not be exceeded if the subdivision was serviced by a Clearford Small Bore Sewer (SBS) system.
The Clearford SBS system reduces both the biological and hydraulic loading at treatment facilities. Sewage solids are settled and organic pollutants are broken down in the ClearDigest interceptor tanks, resulting in a 60‑75% reduction of pollutants in the effluent wastewater. Hydraulic flow is reduced because of the sealed pipe network that keeps out groundwater, and peak daily flow from homes is effectively attenuated in the interceptor tanks.
Not only was the project approved, use of the Clearford system enabled construction of an additional 85 homes by reducing the loading to the municipal wastewater system.
Wardsville is a community in southwestern Ontario comprised of 170 homes, local businesses, a large nursing home, and a golf course. Wardsville had been experiencing the progressive failure of its communal and private sewage systems for several decades; raw sewage was surfacing in the community, contaminating local wells and drainage basins that eventually discharged raw sewage into the Thames River and other surrounding creeks. In 1999, after considerable research, Wardsville’s Municipal Council selected a Clearford Small Bore Sewer (SBS) wastewater collection system over traditional ‘big pipe’ gravity sewer servicing.
“I was a member of the Wardsville municipal council when the Clearford SBS was selected in 1999 as the most cost-effective and environmentally sensible solution to our wastewater servicing requirements—for half the estimated cost of a conventional gravity sewer system. The Clearford system in fact services my own home and I think this solution makes sense, economically and environmentally, for municipalities throughout the province.”
– Councillor Marigay Wilkins, Municipality of Southwest Middlesex
“Wardsville faced the same challenge that so many communities still face today: failing septic systems, no community water service and a constrained capital and operational budget. For just over half the estimated cost of a conventional big pipe system, Clearford provided a simple, cost-effective and environmentally sensible solution to our wastewater servicing requirements. We’ve seen conventional systems installed in other communities take almost twice as long to install and cost significantly more. The ability of Clearford to incorporate horizontal drilling with their SBS technology meant that there was comparatively no disruption to our community during construction. I like to compare our system’s installation to that of a heart operation… using the Clearford SBS was like opting for an angioplasty rather than open heart surgery. In these days of dwindling Federal and Provincial funding programs for municipal infrastructure, and the need to get value for every dollar spent, Clearford’s SBS system makes sense for municipalities.”
– Mayor Doug Reycraft, Municipality of Southwest Middlesex, and President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (2006‑2008)
Bosques Granada & Cayundá is a high profile rural residential development of 115 homes and community amenities located in the Teusacá River valley near Bogotá, Colombia. In order to minimize the environmental footprint of the project, the developer sought an innovative design team that could engineer sustainable water systems for the new community, including a challenging ‘zero water discharge’ objective for the site.
Clearford Industries Colombia was selected as the design-build contractor to implement a unified water servicing solution—delivered in phases—centred around the Clearford One wastewater system with complementary water systems for drinking water, stormwater management, and the beneficial reuse of treated wastewater. The Clearford One system incorporates ClearDigest interceptor tanks at each home and a ClearConvey small bore sewer system to transport wastewater by gravity to a modular ClearRecover treatment solution. Because of the staged construction of homes, low cost constructed wetlands were implemented for wastewater treatment. A small 20‑m2 horizontal wetland was installed to treat effluent from the first few homes, while a larger multi-cell design accommodates the phased flow for the remaining build-out of homes.
In addition to the Clearford One wastewater system, the onsite water management includes a potable water treatment plant and pressurized distribution system, and a network of stormwater management infrastructure that conveys runoff for storage in ponds. Treated wastewater from the constructed wetlands is combined with stormwater for reuse for landscape irrigation throughout the site.
Clearford and its local partners implemented all aspects of the unified water management solution, as well as providing project financing and long-term operations support for all of the water systems.