The test facility at the Greenway Pollution Control Centre is putting London companies on the world map when it comes to wastewater treatment.
The old wastewater treatment space was transformed into a think-tank space for companies to test new clean water technologies. The renovations came at a cost of roughly $8-million, which was split between the city and federal government.
Since the Walkerton incident, rules have been tightened when it comes to testing water and wastewater. The plant in London allows for researches to access wastewater, conduct tests and then pump it back into the city's system to be treated rather than trying to do it in a laboratory .
"You don't need any special permits, it's all taken care of in the design of the facility which makes it much easier to test new technology," says President of Trojan Technologies Marv DeVries, a company that utilizes space at Greenway.
Trojan Technologies has developed several different technologies for cleaning wastewater. They are used in over 100 countries around the world.
"We have a large research group that has about 20 scientists in it," notes DeVries. "As these technologies are taken to market we expect to continue to grow our business and create additional jobs here."
Right now, DeVries tells BlackburnNews.com the company is testing methods to reduce or eliminate invasive species, such as zebra mussels.
The facility is a partnership between the city and Western University. London also belongs to the Southern Ontario Water Consortium, along with nine other colleges and universities and the City of Guelph. The goal is to develop water innovations on a large-scale.