Month: March 2024
Shaping our Shared Future – Nancy Inglis
Nancy Inglis, P.Eng., PMP, Division Manager, Water in our Regina office, is a dedicated leader, project manager, volunteer, and athlete. As a Project Manager, Nancy has led the delivery of some of Western Canada’s most significant projects, including highways, roads, power, and irrigation projects. Her projects include the $1.88 billion Regina Bypass, $1.5 billion Boundary Dam Power Station Carbon Capture and Sequestration, and the Westside Irrigation project in Saskatchewan. Currently, she is playing a lead role on the Municipal District of Acadia and Special Areas Board Irrigation expansion project in east-central Alberta.
Nancy is deeply committed to community service. She has served as an Alternate Warden, Camp 25 (Regina) of The Corporation of the Seven Wardens since 2021. The Corporation is charged with administering the Obligation of Canadian Engineers, a ceremony which dates back to 1922. Nancy has been active in the evolution of more inclusive ceremony traditions and enjoys conferring iron rings to newly qualified Canadian engineers and reminding them of their professional duty to the public.
Since 2016, Nancy has volunteered with the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies-Saskatchewan (ACEC-SK), an organization committed to advancing the consulting engineering industry. Currently, she is a board director of ACEC-Canada, representing Saskatchewan. As Vice-Chair, Nancy plays a pivotal role in shaping policy and advocacy efforts at both the provincial and federal levels. She engages with federal Members of Parliament and Saskatchewan Members of Legislation to effect positive change in infrastructure development.
Nancy is a competitive athlete, most recently competing in the Senior Women’s Curling Championships, representing Saskatchewan. Nancy’s Team Saskatchewan won a silver medal.
With her commitment to the future generation of professional engineers and advocating for the Canadian consulting engineering industry, Nancy shapes our shared future on many levels. Thank you for your dedicated service, Nancy!
Study aims to control invasive fish in Calgary’s storm ponds
Invasive carp have become an issue affecting many regions of the world. Recently, goldfish (Carassius auratus) and Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) have been introduced to North America. The City of Calgary is one of the first municipalities in North America to begin researching control and containment strategies for these invasive carp species.
The City of Calgary has identified invasive goldfish and Prussian carp in multiple stormwater ponds. Invasive carp escaping the stormwater ponds pose a risk to the downstream natural aquatic environment by competing with or displacing native species, impacting water quality, and spreading diseases. In addition, introducing invasive fish into a natural waterbody is illegal under provincial and federal legislation.
Invasive carp are highly adaptable, tolerant to poor water quality and habitat, grow rapidly, and reproduce early to maturity. They can travel between connected waterbodies and unconnected waterbodies during high flow events, resulting in population expansion over time. In addition, invasive carp eggs may be transferred between waterbodies in the digestive systems of water birds, and be deposited in new areas, spreading invasive species. People also contribute to spread of invasive fish, for example, by freeing unwanted pets, stocking ponds for recreational angling, or releasing fish as part of a prayer service.
To control and contain the spread of these invasive fish, the City of Calgary retained Associated to complete an identification and feasibility assessment of potential measures. The first part of the project involved a literature review to identify fish control or eradication solutions implemented in other jurisdictions, best practices implemented during other activities (e.g. instream construction) which could be adapted to stormwater ponds, potential new and innovative ideas which have not previously been used to address invasive fish, and the feasibility of implementing multiple measures concurrently.
Fyke net used for fish abundance monitoring in Tanglewood Wetlands
Environmental Project Manager and Planning Lead, Dean Foster, says, “We completed a feasibility report for the City that recommended dewatering ponds and allowing ponds (and fish) to freeze over winter, as well as fish passage monitoring.”
A pilot dewatering and freezing treatment program was completed on two stormwater ponds to evaluate their efficacy for fish control. We compared the presence of invasive carp pre-and-post treatment, and used dewatering and freezing as a treatment to eradicate invasive carp which appears to have potential; however, more results are needed to better understand the exact specifications required for success. The City plans to continue the fish population control and abundance program in 2024.
Prussian carp captured while completing fish abundance monitoring for the dewatering and freezing pilot program
Fish passage monitoring was piloted at one outfall to inform future containment strategies and gain information about invasive carp movement, specifically eggs and larvae, out of the storm ponds and into natural waterbodies.
“The information gathered from this pilot project will be used to help inform the exploration of different configurations of fish screens and materials to prevent invasive carp from migrating into natural waterbodies.”
Associated is collaborating with the University of Alberta and Biologica Environmental Services to determine the best methodology to complete DNA testing on the preserved specimens and obtain specific information regarding invasive carp movement. The City, in partnership with Associated, plans to scale-up the fish passage monitoring program in 2024.
Lastly, eDNA sampling was conducted at all of the City’s stormwater ponds to detect and document the extent of invasive carp.
“The eDNA sampling pilot project was successful in developing repeatable methods, identifying constraints, and training Associated staff members.”
Our key personnel involved on the environmental component of this project include Dean Foster, Jessica Eaton, Carlo Gallotta, Krish Purohit, and Lee Hang-Liu.
Angela Hickie-Miller leverages collaboration and project management skills to deliver major projects
Angela (front centre) with colleagues in the Regina office (l-r: Nicole DeBond, Thomas Goddard, and Nancy Inglis)
As Manager, Special Projects in our Regina office, Angela Hickie-Miller leads a talented group of project engineers, project managers, administrators, and analysts to deliver major projects, including some of Canada’s largest and most complex projects. Her team, including Thomas Goddard, Stella Madsen, and Pamela Procyk, bring decades of project delivery experience coupled with expertise in project, financial, schedule, and document controls; information management; analytics; communication; and collaboration.
“Working with this amazing team has been one of my career highlights!”
Recent examples of the group’s success and involvement on large-scale assignments are the award-winning $1.88 billion Regina Bypass project, the Westside Irrigation project in Saskatchewan, and the Municipal District of Acadia and Special Areas joint irrigation project in east-central Alberta in Treaty 7 territory. These complex projects require budget and schedule control, risk management, collaboration with multiple partners, and stakeholder engagement.
The Special Projects team members are typically involved in all aspects of project management, through all phases of a project. Typically, one of the first steps of their projects is setting up a project collaboration site to enable efficient and secure data sharing and collaboration for use by internal and external personnel.
“It’s important to create a virtual project environment that is easy to use, well supported, and has excellent search capabilities. We try to keep things simple and get input from the project team to ensure that they are onboard with the site development.”
Angela tells us, “Our Special Projects personnel are often the ‘go-to’ contacts for project information. Depending on the project, we may use lists or logs to track submissions, issues, decisions, lessons learned, and other important data. We analyze information to get a handle on its importance. We are also often involved in the compilation of technical information and therefore can serve an active role in ensuring project deliverables have a consistent voice and reflect the client’s expectations.”
Financial controls include contract management and amendments, ongoing monitoring of budgets and schedule, and invoicing based on an agreed-upon work breakdown structure. Project dashboards are provided to clients on a monthly basis that provide a snapshot of each project’s status. Updates on project deliverables, schedule, and earned value forecasting are also included.
“For multi-consultant projects, we may develop project-specific templates, naming conventions, and other procedures which may support the development of the Project Management Plan, Quality Management Plan, and Project Safety Plan. We provide project onboarding training sessions to help roll out the various information. Training is also a great opportunity to build a strong and supportive team environment.”
Angela is a Civil/Environmental Engineer, who first joined Associated Engineering in 1996. She started her career on the design and management of municipal infrastructure projects. She later held a role as Senior Engineer in charge of proposal development for the Regina office. Presently, in addition to her management role, she is also involved on the Acadia irrigation project and the City of Edmonton’s Capital Line LRT project.
Angela and her father attend the Hospitals of Regina Foundation Donor Appreciation Gala
When asked about people who have influenced her career, Angela shares, “I’ve had many influences and mentors in my life and career, including my parents; Ken Hicks (a long time Associated project manager); and my former colleagues from the Yorkton Tribal Council. Each of my mentors demonstrated a remarkable ability to overcome obstacles and contribute so much to society. As a leader, Angela believes in building on each other’s strengths and supporting one another through challenges.”
Over the years, Angela has volunteered extensively with APEGS, Extendicare, Regina Food Bank, Inclusion Regina, and many more.
“Currently, my main volunteering work is with my daughter’s baton twirling club, as I serve as Club President.”
She says, “Associated’s Regina Branch Manager kindly allows me to host club meetings at our office. As a female dominated sport, baton twirling doesn’t get the respect or funding it deserves, even though the level of athleticism and dedication is on par with other competitive sports. Therefore, any help we can get is so appreciated. Thank you Associated Engineering for your support!”
[ViewPoints] Serving communities and clients in Northern Canada brings opportunities and personal satisfaction
I often get asked what a consulting career is like in Northern Canada. Well, it’s unique and wonderful! There are opportunities and life experiences here that cannot be found anywhere else.
Working and living in the North means being in an environment with extreme natural conditions. We face bitter cold, winters with complete darkness, and summers with all-day sun. We also experience extraordinary landscapes and northern lights, adventure, wilderness, a welcoming culture, and a true sense of belonging – all of this is what draws people to the North!
Working in the North gives us the opportunity to work on diverse and challenging projects that have a real impact on the environment and the people living in these remote areas. We have a lot to learn from people in the North, and their ways of life and priorities.
Every project is different and this is particularly true in the North.
Conditions change depending on the size of the community, the local environment, and the community’s needs. We don’t just serve our clients; we also build strong relationships with the communities.
Our projects range from a residential fuel tank spill, where you need to work with the homeowners and the community to educate them and remediate the spill response and impacts, to navigating regulatory processes and engaging with the community. We also participate in design and construction of vital infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges, water, and wastewater treatment plants, and airports.
Climate change is a current crisis, especially in the North. Permafrost is melting. Winter ice road conditions are problematic, and wildfires and floods affect the ability to ship freight by air or sea. There is a lot of pressure in a fast-changing and unpredictable environment.
Working in consulting takes a mix of applied science, problem solving skills, and the love of working with people.
This career enables you to expand your skills and always work through logistics and solutions with the end goal of serving our clients better. Being client focused, we need to be able to bring all of the services the company has to offer, which means thinking on your feet and knowing when and where to pull in additional resources and expertise into these communities.
Environmental consulting has changed in the past 20 years. We used to play a more reactive role; we were often called in for support after an environmental incident.
Now, we are proactively consulted to advise, to work with the regulators, to participate on design teams, and to coordinate with communities.
Some of our exciting and diverse environmental projects include the Inuvik Airport runway extension, the Hay River Channel dredging program, Yukon airports and aerodromes environmental risk inventories and remediation planning, the City of Yellowknife Water Licence and wetland delineation studies, and Northwest Territories caribou habitat compensation plans.
To learn more about our environmental science work in the Canadian North and career opportunities, contact Rebekka at lindskoogr@ae.ca. Also, hear more from Rebekka in our AE Live podcast.
About the Author: Rebekka Lindskoog, R.P. Bio. is a Senior Environmental Scientist with more than 25 years of experience as an environmental professional. She has worked extensively in the North for nearly 15 years. Rebekka has managed more than 350 projects, many of them being Northern multi-year projects requiring coordinated multi-disciplinary project teams.
Episode 4: Iconic Structural Engineering
In Episode 4, we speak with Jermyn Wong (Discipline Lead, Building Structural) about his career in building structural engineering, projects that he’s been involved with, and the variety of building materials used to address various challenges and meet specific goals.
