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), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), 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.