Freda Leong: Inquisitive nature led the way to a career in engineering

Sib (l), Freda, and daughter Maebel

Inquisitive by nature, Freda Leong has been questioning how things work all her life. As the daughter of a developer, Freda recalls going out on sites as a little girl and being in awe of everything. “I was always asking how things were done, how things worked, and why they built something. As a child, my biggest thrill was not swings or teeter totters, but getting onto a backhoe. I remember asking my Dad once how a toilet worked, which is not the sort of thing a child usually asks.”

In high school, Freda recalls an engineering science teacher who had a gift for explaining things in a way that really made sense to her. “He was not just technical, but very practical as well. Plus his enthusiasm for engineering really came across. It was in his class that I realized that how I worked things out was really suited to engineering.”

A career in engineering naturally developed. Freda went to theUniversity of Technology in Sydney, Australia, where she received a Bachelors degree in civil engineering. After graduating, Freda joined Sydney Water. “I had spent two co-op terms at Sydney Water’s Maintenance Depot, which showed me how things were done in the field and made me appreciate what needs to be considered when designing a water system.” At Sydney Water, Freda was responsible for asset management. She participated in condition assessments and evaluation of water and storm sewer assets, flood mitigation studies, creek rehabilitation studies, and preliminary designs for sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and water assets.

In 2004, Freda and her husband Sib decided to move to BC, where Freda had lived as a child. Freda states, “We both felt that Vancouver would be a good place to bring up our daughter, Maebel. It rains a lot, but the summers more than compensate--at least that’s what I have been telling Sib!”

Upon moving to BC, a family friend recommended that Freda apply for a position at Associated Engineering. “This family friend was a client of Associated Engineering. For a client to recommend Associated Engineering, the company must have impressed him immensely. That spoke volumes to me.”

Freda made an instant connection with Manager of Business Development, Lianna Mah. Meeting with Ed Bird, (then Manager of the Infrastructure group in the Burnaby office and now our Risk Manager), sealed the deal.

Since joining Associated Engineering, Freda has worked on the design of water systems for communities throughout BC, including Langley, Masset, Pemberton, Naramata, and many First Nations communities. She has developed a real passion for working with First Nations communities.

Freda advises that she has enjoyed the opportunity that her work provides to visit different communities and meet people around the province. One of her first meetings was with a Band psychiatrist regarding the communities she was working for. Freda recalls, “The meeting reinforced my belief that engineers must consider the human side of our work--the needs of the people in the communities and the operators who will run the water systems we design.”

Freda advises, “Overall, the highlight of my work has been the people I’ve met and the relationships that I’ve formed with our clients. Recently, I had a client say that as long as I was coming onto a project, they would not query the change in project personnel.That was a real pat on the back.”

Freda credits two mentors, Ed Bird in our Kelowna office and Dan Hogan from our Saskatoon office who have provided sage advice and helped her develop her career at Associated Engineering, encouraging her to focus on her passion: First Nations communities.

Freda with Ted Molyneux from Public Works and Government Services Canada

When asked if she has a philosophy regarding work, Freda states that “communication, honesty, and respect” are key. “Ask questions, listen, be honest and sincere,” she says, “and remember that respect is not given, but is earned.”

Freda is an active member and past president of AE’s Burnaby office Social Club. Outside of the office Freda and her husband, Sib, are busy with their daughter, Maebel. They enjoy eating, tennis, and travel. Freda jokes, “I’m not sure if eating is technically a hobby, but I love it!” Freda is also a member of the Consulting Engineers of BC’s Municipal Liaison Committee, and, on Dan Hogan’s advice, hopes to become more involved with Habitat for Humanity.

Asked if she has any good advice for young engineers, Freda says, “Find a good mentor. If you have an issue or questions about what you have been asked to do, take the time to digest the problem, but don’t be afraid to ask questions. Then, listen. That is the best way to learn.”

Water system improvements provide high quality water to Naramata residents

Located on the east shore of Lake Okanagan approximately 10 kilometres north of Penticton, the picturesque community of Naramata supports a significant orchard and wine industry. Naramata’s water system, like many irrigation districts in the Okanagan Valley, serves a combination of agricultural and domestic demands, with the largest component being agricultural. Due to ongoing water quality issues on its upland creek water supplies, the Interior Health Authority had enforced a Boil Water Order for Naramata for more than a decade. Finding affordable solutions to the ongoing water quality issues presented a challenge due to the high agricultural water demands. Peak demands in this community of 2000 can reach 30 million litres per day or 15,000 litres per capita per day; this compares with typical per capita water usage of 400 litres per day.

Chief operator, David Carlson, checking UV reactors

To solve water quality issues, the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) established the Naramata Water Advisory Committee to provide local input, direction, and assistance in the planning and implementation of the improvements required. The RDOS also engaged Associated Engineering to design and oversee construction of a series of water system improvements. The $8 million project involved designing water supply and treatment upgrades and developing a plan for future separation of the domestic and agricultural demand components. The new facilities would replace an existing supply system which delivered chlorinated water from two existing upland creek intakes and two existing lake intakes.

The initial project design concept involved completing a major upgrade to the two existing lake intakes to draw the full demands from the higher quality lake source. During the preliminary design phase, our design team identified several risks regarding one of the intake sites, which led to a value engineering review with the Regional District staff. A suggestion by one of the Regional District staff ultimately led to Associated Engineering developing a new concept that eliminated the intake of concern. The new concept involves doubling the capacity of the existing deep lake intake by upgrading the existing intake screen and constructing a new raw water pump station. Hydraulic calculations confirmed that the existing 750 metre long intake conduit could handle the increased flow rate. We replaced the existing 44 litre per second Townsite Pump Station with a new 340 litre per second Raw Water Pump Station, and installed a new 2 kilometre long, 600 millimetre diameter raw water supply pipeline from the Raw Water Pump Station to the new water treatment plant site.

The new treatment plant includes ultraviolet disinfection and sodium hypochlorite generation to provide two-stage disinfection. The lakewater, drawn through the intake at a depth of 20 metres, is typically of good quality with turbidity generally below 0.5 NTU. Ultraviolet primary disinfection is provided to inactivate Giardia and Cryptosporidium.

Two sets of treated water pumps deliver water from the treatment plant to higher elevation pressure zones. The supply system improvements include a new 800 metre long, 400 millimetre diameter South Zone treated water main and 1.2 kilometre 300/250 millimetre diameter North Zone treated water main interconnecting to the existing distribution system.

The design incorporates a number of energy efficient features, including using lake water as the energy source to heat and cool the Raw Water Pump Station and the treatment plant. The tempered water is then redirected into the treated water distribution system to eliminate liquid waste and energy losses.

The team developed a design approach to ensure a continuous water supply to the community during the construction period using the three other existing intakes. Construction of the water system improvements was completed in March 2007. Fittingly, the official opening of the new system was held on March 22, 2007 – World Water Day. This event was hosted by RDOS Area Director, Tom Chapman, who played a significant role in implementing the project along with representatives of the Naramata Water Advisory Committee. Other attendees included BC Community Services Minister, Ida Chong and RDOS chair, Dan Ashton, and other RDOS board directors.

Project Manager Bill Harvey states, "The success of this project was due to excellent teamwork between the Regional District, the Naramata Water Advisory Committee, the Contractors, Maple Reinders and H&M Contracting, and the design team. The Regional District operators were actively involved in the project starting at the predesign stage, provided key input into design decisions, and were actively involved during startup and commissioning of the new facilities.”

Other AE staff included Don Greer, Mario Laurin, Sean Bolongaro, Miles Brook, Keith Kohut, Suzi Valoen, Simeon Dee, Peter Bakker, Amir Mirsalehi, Sam Lui, Alice Liu, Francois Atkinson, Yong Kim and G Humi.