Salt Spring Island Ales

Salt Spring Island Ales brews a variety of beers from spring water collected on the forested hillside behind the brewery.  The brewing process includes several stages, and as much as possible, solids and highly concentrated wastes are side-streamed and diverted from the wastewater treatment process.

Wastewater that reaches the treatment process has very high concentrations of sugars, alcohol and yeast.  In terms of oxygen demand, brewery wastewater is about ten times more concentrated than typical domestic sewage.  One of the most challenging aspects is the wide variability in both the quantity and quality.  This is due primarily to the equipment cleaning regimen, which involves successive washings of strong acid, strong base and strong disinfectants. All of these have the potential to disrupt or kill the microorganisms that provide the biological treatment.  The current treatment process consists of equalization, aeration, sludge re-circulation, and sedimentation.  Treated effluent discharges to ground.

MSR Solutions is in the process of upgrading the wastewater treatment system of Salt Spring Island Ales to accommodate an increase in production.  The future wastewater treatment facility will include improved primary treatment. It will also take advantage of both anaerobic and aerobic zones to reduce effluent strength. It will do this while simultaneously minimizing the production of solid waste. Feedback control systems will balance the wide fluctuations in pH and flow rate.