Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre

Greater Nanaimo Pollution Control Centre (GNPCC) treats wastewater from approximately 104,000 people in the City of Nanaimo, Snuneymuxw First Nation land, and the District of Lantzville. GNPCC also treats septage from residential onsite (septic) systems and wastewater from pump-and-haul properties. View a map of the service area. 

Sewers are built to follow the natural slope of land, allowing gravity to do most of the work to transport wastewater. Low elevation areas use a pump station to pump the wastewater to a treatment plant. GNPCC uses three pump stations: Wellington Pump Station, Departure Bay Pump Station and Chase River Pump Station.

The GNPCC provides primary and secondary treatment and removes more than 90% of the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS), two of the main methods used to measure wastewater quality. Learn more about how treatment works and the different levels of wastewater treatment.

Biosolids, a soil-like material produced during the wastewater treatment process, are managed in the RDN's Biosolids Management Program.

GNPCC treated over 11 billion litres of wastewater in 2022. Treated wastewater is discharged into the Strait of Georgia 2,030 m offshore at a depth of 70 m. For more information see the 2021 GNPCC Annual Report.

Major Projects & Improvements