Growing up on the Lake inspired Alan Pentney's career in water resources

Alan and his wife, Tara

Growing up on Lake of the Woods in Northwestern Ontario, where his parents ran a commercial fishery and tourist resort, fueled Alan Pentney's keen interest for natural ecosystems and water resources. "My father was self-educated with an expertise in anything mechanical," recalls Alan. "He was very analytical and developed his own theories on lake productivity and water management. He engineered wharfs to withstand waves and ice pressures, and saved a turn-of-the-century, three story lighthouse from demolition. He moved the lighthouse across a lake to his property and then restored it."

After high school, it was a natural progression for Alan to follow a path in the water industry. He enrolled in the Water Sciences Technology program at Kelsey College in Saskatoon. After graduation, he worked with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment as an inspector for water and wastewater systems. This work inspired Alan to further his studies. He enrolled at the University of Ottawa and graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering specializing in water resources.

Alan joined Alberta Environment in 1979. Alan reflects, "As a regulator, I found that balancing authority with equal portions of practicality and technical advice was a combination for success and personal satisfaction. I gained respect and credibility if I analyzed problems from a number of perspectives and found cost-effective solutions. I also prided myself on finding methods of managing information and developing procedures that made the job easier to manage and outcomes easier to predict."

Travelling to every community in Northern Alberta, Alan found that growing up on the Lake of the Woods also helped him to relate to the unique situations people faced in these communities.

Throughout his career with Alberta Environment, Alan worked on many diverse and important projects. He led regulatory reviews to upgrade effluent standards in the pulp and paper industry in Alberta, worked with municipalities to improve effluent from wastewater treatment plants, and helped finalize the first Water Management Plan in Alberta for the South Saskatchewan River Basin. The South Saskatchewan River Basin Water Management Plan was a six year, multi-phase project on which Alan was an advisor, co-author, mediator, presenter, and chairperson. The plan resulted in recommendations to close significant rivers to further water allocations to protect the resource.

After a very successful career with Alberta Environment, Alan retired from the public sector. However, Alan wasn't quite ready to stop working. He reviewed his options and decided on a second career in consulting engineering.

Alan had met and worked with many Associated Engineering staff during his career with Alberta Environment. He respected the company and the staff, and so he decided to enquire with the company.

Alan joined Associated Engineering's Calgary office early this year. He is pleased with his second career and excited to be working on projects where he can apply his regulatory background.

Alan continues to break new ground in water resources. He completed an application for the Town of Banff's waterworks to be registered as a high quality groundwater waterworks system. Banff is the first municipality to do so in Alberta. Alan is also working with 37 municipalities to identify their long-term water needs in the Red Deer Basin, and is assisting Alberta Environment and the City of Calgary to finalize a wastewater approval to include a total loading approach within an outcome-based approval regime.

From a young boy growing up on the Lake of the Woods to an accomplished consulting engineer, Alan has given much to the communities and companies he has lived in and worked for. The journey has had it rewards in a rich family life with two children who have successful careers and a wife who shares his passions for travel ing, architecture, and history, as well as golfing, curling, and the occasional ski or fishing trip.

Drawing from his extensive experience, Alan offers the following advice to young engineers:

• Find an area that you enjoy; do not make decisions on money
• Always look for opportunities to expose yourself to new things that are related to your interests - never stop learning
• Get out in the field, see projects, interact with the client, and talk to everyone - especially the person who has to operate what you are designing!

Congratulations to Norm and Jean Lawrence on their 65th wedding anniversary

Norm and Jean Lawrence

Congratulations to Norm and Jean Lawrence who celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary this year. Norm Lawrence is a founder of Associated Engineering. He was president of the company from 1954 to 1969, and Chairman of the Board from 1969 to 1973. Norm retired from the company in 1973. Under Norm?s leadership, the company grew from a three person company to 500 staff. Norm also led the development of the employee-ownership structure, which the company still maintains today.

Norm and Jean were married in June 1942. They have four children and many grandchildren.

Happy 65th Anniversary, Norm and Jean!

Bryan Petzold appointed to Board of Directors

Kerry Rudd, President and CEO, is pleased to announce the appointment of Bryan Petzold, MBA, P.Eng. to Associated Engineering's Board of Directors. Bryan brings to our Board 30 years of experience in both the public and private sector, including expertise in business management and governance. Specializing in transportation engineering, Bryan's technical expertise includes transportation planning and highway design. Based in Edmonton, Bryan is currently Manager of the Transportation group in Alberta.

Designing river intakes to meet new regulations

Over the years, Associated Engineering has designed numerous water supply systems across Canada and around the world. For surface water supplies such as lakes or rivers, raw water intakes are a critical component of the water supply system. Raw water intakes must be capable of reliably withdrawing an adequate supply of good quality water, even under the most adverse conditions. Intakes must also comply with the applicable regulatory requirements.

Design factors are dynamic and often competing. Flows vary seasonally and also over the years as water demands change due to changes in population, conservation measures, or treatment technologies. Likewise, the quality of raw water supply will be different and will change from one source to the next, or in one location compared to another within a common water source. Often the most adverse conditions, as they apply to both the quantity and quality of a water supply, are predicted through historical statistical analysis to arrive at the scenario under which the facility design parameters are based.

Compliance with increasingly stringent regulatory requirements has become a major component of the design process. Several regulatory agencies are involved in the approvals process for a river intake, including the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Transport Canada which administers the Navigable Waters Protection Act (NWPA), the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Environment Canada, and federal Department of Justice which administers the Migratory Bird Conventions Act. In addition to the federal regulators, each province has provincial regulatory agencies that oversee design and construction of intakes. For example, in Saskatchewan, agencies include the Heritage Resources Branch Department of Culture, Youth and Recreation, Saskatchewan Environment, Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, and Saskatchewan Watershed Authority. In Alberta, the provincial regulators include Alberta Environment and Alberta Community Development. Depending on the location, municipal or local regulators and/or stakeholders, such as local conservation organizations, may also have a role in the design of intakes.

For example, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are responsible for mitigating potential impacts on fish. Current regulations require that intakes be designed for the species of fish present in the river. Based on this, a size limit for fry will be established. For three projects Associated Engineering has recently undertaken in Saskatoon, Red Deer, and Edmonton, this has resulted in much smal er allowable screen opening sizes and much larger screen areas compared to intake designs in the past.

In addition, designs must consider how fish are moved away from the screen. Fish must not be impinged on the screens and must be kept in the river or be safely transported back if drawn from the river. Other design considerations include managing frazil ice, operations and maintenance access, safety, hydraulics, hydrology, river navigation, and intake capacity. These factors can and often do conflict with the ideal approach to mitigate any impact on fish. Associated Engineering has found that both computational fluid dynamics modelling and physical modelling are powerful tools to cost effectively address these criteria and demonstrate the performance of the intakes to the regulators and owners.

With regulatory requirements becoming more stringent, approval processes can often take considerable time. Establishing a relationship with and ensuring appropriate officials from the various regulatory agencies are involved early in the process is essential to help the process. Face-to-face meetings between project team members and the officials responsible for facilitating regulatory permitting are very desireable to establish their expectations. In turn, these meetings provide the opportunity for the project team to present design and cost estimates, as well as any cost implications of regulatory requirements. The final design must be one that regulatory officials can defend if challenged by the public, and one that is affordable and sustainable for the owner. In the end, a project cannot proceed without the required permitting and approvals from the regulatory agencies. However, it is vital that the cost implications be minimized. By working together, the owner, consultant, the regulators, and the public can expect a water supply system that will be safe, affordable, and sustainable while protecting the environment.

For more information, contact Ian Wright at wrighti@ae.ca or Peter Hooge at hoogep@ae.ca.