We're excited to be part of the UESI Pipelines 2024 Conference in Calgary, AB this week! From serving on the conference organizing committee, moderating sessions, authoring papers, and delivering presentations in the technical track program, our participating staff have been busy in the lead up and expect a wonderful few days ahead!
Monday, July 29, 2024
2:00PM – 2:30PM | Macleod D Room
Valley Line West LRT – Drainage Relocation – Microtunnelling Construction Design and Impact
Chris Lamont
Design and construction on the new Valley Line West which connects downtown to the west side of Edmonton is currently underway. EPCOR owns and operates a number of sanitary sewers along the new LRT alignment. Due to the depth, length, and other utility conflicts, the primary sewer was designed to be replaced by primarily by microtunnelling methods. Shanghai Construction Group was awarded the project and began planning for several microtunnel drives. Due to the tight construction timeline two drives were planned to occur simultaneously by microtunnelling from both sides of an existing 1500mm diameter trunk at installation lengths between 400m and 980m. The anticipated jacking loads for the installations were identified as a concern as the existing deep trunk was not designed to take the laterally imposed 500 and 800 Tonnes cyclically over 200 times and at nonconcentric elevations. A finite element analysis of the proposed shaft design system and the loading imposed by the microtunnelling was completed to determine if the potential impacts to the existing tunnel were in excess of what could be resisted. This paper will discuss the steps taken to assess the structural impact of the construction loads on the existing deep sewer trunk. It will also go through the complications and issues encountered during construction and how they were mitigated through working with the owner to minimize public impact on such a large project.
2:30PM - 3:00PM | Glen 208-209 Room
NWIC Upper Plateau Separation Project: Reducing Flood Risk Through Innovative Storm Catchment Separation
Craig Pass, Andrew Wiens
The community of Sunnyside, North of downtown Calgary, Alberta, is located in the Bow River floodplain. Sunnyside is located below a 30 metre high escarpment which separates it from an upper plateau. 290 ha of this upper plateau catchment drains into storm trunks that connect to Sunnyside’s storm system and discharge to the Bow River. In 2013, Sunnyside was subjected to significant flooding twice over the span of two weeks. Associated Engineering worked with The City of Calgary to identify solutions to manage the upper plateau stormwater and reduce flood risk in Sunnyside. The design criteria required management of a 1:50 year rainfall event with a low Bow River level and a 1:5 year rainfall event when the river level is at a 1:100 year level. Associated assessed options to store and pump the stormwater. Feasible storage locations proved difficult to find in the developed, inner-city and pumping the flow proved costly, so Associated also examined conveyance options. Due to the estimated capital cost, the options were vetted through a Value Engineering session convened by The City. The recommended option which was advanced to construction proposed intercepting the upper plateau stormwater and conveying it to the Bow River via a 775 m long, 3.4 m diameter gravity storm trunk. The trunk, which includes a depressed siphon, will convey 20 m3/s during a low river condition and 11 m3/s to a high river. A portion of the trunk was installed by microtunnelling and was the largest diameter microtunnelling installation in Canada as of the installation date. By installing the trunk, the storm flows from the upper plateau catchment north of Sunnyside were separated from the local flows generated from within the community for discharge directly to the Bow River during low and high river levels. This created additional capacity in the local existing system, significantly reducing the flood risk for Sunnyside and adjacent communities. The paper and technical presentation will provide insight into the project planning, design and construction delivery.
5:00PM - 5:30PM | Macleod C Room
Saunderson Waterline – Large Diameter HDD Installation
Chris Lamont, Jason Lueke
The Saunderson PRV project is a multi-year project to upgrade water supply for the Lower Townsite (LTS) neighbourhood in Fort McMurray, Alberta. The project includes the construction of a new PRV chamber in the LTS, extension of the existing primary high pressure water supply line, and the installation of a new supply line from the new LTS PRV chamber to the existing Abasand Heights neighbourhood reservoir to by horizontal directional drilling (HDD). The focus of this paper is on the design and installation of the 450 m long, 914 mm diameter HDPE DR9 directionally drilled supply line crossing of Highway 63 from the LTS to the Abasand Heights plateau, a topographic elevation difference of approximately 65 m between entry and exit. Detail design of the installation included consideration of the complex geotechnical stratigraphy, elevation difference, short alignment, connection requirements and its setback from the plateaus top of bank, slope failure zone, and extremely tight workspace restrictions. Construction of the trenchless crossing installation was successfully completed in April 2023. Project complexities were anticipated during design and managed during installation as a result of the elevation difference between drill entry and exit including contingency measures to manage flush-backs during reaming passes, overbreak pipe support at drill exit for pullback, buoyancy control requirements during pullback, and annular space grouting post-installation. This paper will review the steps taken during design and construction to support the successful installation and review lessons learned through the process.
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
10:30AM – 11:00AM | Glen 208-209 Room
The City of Edmonton’s Sustainable Utility – Blatchford District Energy System
Aaron McCartie
Following the closure of the Edmonton City Centre Airport, the City of Edmonton has approved a redevelopment plan for the 536-acre parcel of land. The City’s Vision is that “Blatchford will be home to up to 30,000 Edmontonians living, working and learning in a sustainable community that uses 100 percent renewable energy, is carbon neutral, significantly reduces its ecological footprint, and empowers residents to pursue a range of sustainable lifestyle choices.” The overall District Energy System design utilizes inter-connected nodes of centralized heat pumps distributing ambient-temperature water to heat pumps in each building. This allows for sharing between buildings and flexibility for connection of additional energy sources in a staged build-out over time. Geoexchange, sewer heat exchange, auxiliary boilers and cooling-towers, Solar PV as a low-GHG electricity source, are included in the overall design concept. Combining the benefits of building energy efficiency, energy sharing within the system, and highly efficient heat pumps, results in greenhouse gas reductions at 75% below that of business as usual. The 3 MW Energy Centre for Phase 1 was commissioned in Q4 2019 with an initial 1 MW of HP capacity, and a 570 borehole geoexchange field under the future storm water retention pond as it’s renewable energy source. More than 1 km of large-diameter HDPE DPS has a planned 57 service connections. The City of Edmonton has established the Blatchford Renewable Energy Utility to own and operate the system. Blatchford has been recognized locally, nationally, and internationally, with awards including those from: Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Canada; Canadian Home Builders’ Association; Consulting Engineers of Alberta; Federation of Canadian Municipalities; and most recently International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC). This presentation will discuss the assessment, design, and implementation of this innovative and forward-thinking utility project that provides low-carbon heating and cooling service to an urban in-fill, master-planned, sustainable community.
10:30AM - 11:00AM | Telus 104-106 Room
Buffalo Pound Non Potable Water Supply System – Regina Regional Pipeline
Darin Schindel, Keith Kingsbury, Kristin Sies
The Buffalo Pound Non Potable Water Supply System (BPNPWSS)– Regina Regional system will supply non-potable water from Buffalo Pound Lake to industrial customers in the southwest and northeast regions around Regina. The Regina Regional System is an extension of the existing BPNPWSS – East which consists of a lake intake, pumping station and pipelines that currently supply non-potable water to industrial customers in the Belle Plaine corridor. The project as a whole includes two booster pump stations, 65 kilometers of pipe and service laterals and metering stations at various customer sites. The planning of the pipeline began with utilizing GIS to show existing utilities, route challenges and initial consultation with stakeholders. Once the route was chosen, hydraulic analysis was completed to determine the required pressure rating and diameter of the pipe to deliver the required water to the end users. The results of that analysis were that the pipeline would be broken down into 3 sections: Section 1 being 34.5 kilometers of 600mm with an operating pressure of 275psi, Section 2 being 24 kilometers of 500 mm with an operating pressure of 250psi, and Section 3 being 5.5 kilometers of 400mm with an operating pressure of 150psi. The design of the pipeline took a unique and alternative delivery approach. The focus from the client, Saskatchewan Water Corporation (SaskWater), was to determine through industry consultation the most cost effective pipeline material for each section and to determine if the contractors chosen had experience in installing the chosen pipe type. Ductile iron, steel, and HDPE were candidates for Sections 1 and 2, with PVC added as an option for Section 3. The design of the pipeline was completed to 70%, without a specified pipe type for procurement. A Request for Supplier Qualifications (RFSQ) pre-qualified 3 contractors to submit a proposal to complete the work. The proposals included the Contractor’s proposed pipeline material for each section meeting the specified criteria, work plan and schedule, additional details on their previous experience and their proposal price. Once the pipe types were chosen, the design was completed with the selected Contractor’s input and construction began in May 2023. This paper will provide an overview of the planning and design process determining the pipeline route utilizing GIS, to 70% design of the pipeline, and finally to obtaining a qualified contractor and completing the design. We will also discuss the challenges and benefits that this approach brought on.
