Associated Engineering honoured by Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Saskatchewan

Last night in Saskatoon, the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies - Saskatchewan hosted their 2022 Awards of Distinction event celebrating the achievements of consulting engineering and geoscience industry members. We are pleased to share that Associated Engineering was once again recognized with Brian Eckel Awards for innovative projects completed in Saskatchewan and was also presented with the PINNACLE Award for top project in 2022. In addition, one of our staff members was presented with this year's Young Professionals Award. Congratulations to our project teams and our clients on these prestigious recognitions for technical excellence, teamwork, and dedication to serving our communities!

PINNACLE Award & Award of Excellence
Melville Potable Water Supply System Water Treatment Plant and Wellfields

Since its founding in 1908, the City of Melville endured challenges providing reliable, quality drinking water for residents. The City’s surface water supply was proving challenging to treat and prone to droughts, requiring the City to add a supplemental groundwater supply. In 1989, the City implemented Canada’s first electrodialysis reversal (EDR) process to treat its highly mineralized groundwater supply. In 2016, with this equipment near the end of its service life, SaskWater – the plant’s owner/operator – contracted Associated Engineering to design and oversee construction of a new water treatment plant using only groundwater.

The new plant employs RO (reverse osmosis), which is comparatively, a more effective and widely adopted demineralization technology than EDR. The Associated design team tailored pre-treatment and post-treatment processes around the RO system to extend RO service life, thus decreasing overall operating costs, enhancing water quality, and safety for residents and preserving downstream infrastructure.

Associated Engineering’s design allowed construction and commissioning to proceed without unplanned water supply service disruptions while fully integrating existing non-plant infrastructure where possible. Initially located adjacent to the old facility, the new plant design facilitated raw water and treated water piping interconnections, including a challenging connection into the existing gunite reservoir. The new process incorporates wastewater retention and release, reducing environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions from the former deep well injection system. Delivered on time and under budget, the water treatment plant provides Melville residents with affordable, high quality, sustainable, and reliable drinking water that supports growth, economic development, and quality of life.

Award of Excellence
Village of Lebret Flood Hazard Mapping

The Village of Lebret, 70 km northeast of Regina, has the good fortune, and the challenge, of being located along the shores of Mission Lake. Its location required Lebret to abide by a Flood Hazard Map, developed by the provincial Water
Security Agency (WSA). The map outlines land which Lebret could or could not develop (flood fringe vs the floodway). 

Although appropriate methods were used at the time for flood hazard mapping, the Village felt the map needed updating to better delineate the flood fringe, which would protect public safety and property, and could allow for greater land development. In 2021, the Village contracted Associated Engineering to develop a revised flood hazard plan using advanced methodologies. The prime project challenge was the limited timeline. The plan required a detailed bathymetric survey of the lake depths to be completed using a boat in November 2021, following award of the contract, and before lake freeze-up. All work, which was 50 percent funded by the WSA, had to be completed by March 31.

To complete the work, Associated Engineering used bathymetric readings, a LiDAR survey, wind and wave analysis, and the 1:100 and 1:500-year flood levels from the WSA. Working in collaboration with WSA, we adapted advanced coastal modelling techniques and leveraged expertise in wave analysis to develop detailed, reliable flood hazard mapping for Lebret. Completed on time and on budget, the flood hazard map provides Lebret with assurance of the areas that the community can securely develop, while protecting public safety.

Young Professional Award
Rahim Ahmad, P.Eng.

The ACEC-SK Young Professional Award is presented annually to recognize an emerging industry leader, acknowledging the value, achievements, and contributions of a young professional employed by a member firm. Learn more about Rahim, a project engineer in our Saskatoon office, in our recent staff spotlight interview.