Water Resources

Canada is a world leader on requiring industrial facilities to measure the more subtle effects of effluent on the environment, and eliminate them if there are negative impacts. For 20 years, its Environmental Effects Monitoring has ensured that Canadian pulp and paper facilities operate with minimal impacts on water resources by looking for potential effects on fish and benthic invertebrates that make up the ecosystem. Our pulp and paper mills operate in full compliance with these strict regulations.

We use water drawn from the Nechako and Fraser Rivers in our manufacturing process. During 2016, the pulp mills and the paper mill combined used 79 cubic metres of water per air dry metric tonne of pulp and paper produced. Approximately 98% of the water we process is discharged to the river, and only 2% is actually consumed in the process. 

In 2016, we stabilized and raised the berm at the Northwood Pulp Mill’s outfall lagoon to meet a 200-year flood level and avoid overflows into the Fraser River. Since the berm base was widened, removing fish habitat in the side channel, we built new fish habitat as part of the project. The outflow lagoon receives treated effluent from the Northwood mill and releases it into the Fraser River through a submerged diffuser. 

 
The stabilized and raised berm at Northwood’s outfall lagoon meets a 200-year flood level.