The BC water and wastewater services industry is coming together virtually next week for their annual gathering to share and learn from each other on topics reflecting this year's theme of Navigating Changing Tides. Once again, our engineering and environmental science practices are well represented and featured in the education program taking place June 1st and 2nd. We welcome attendees to join our presenters' sessions to hear about their experiences delivering projects during this unprecedented year.
Tuesday, June 1st
Main Stage | 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Ladysmith Arbutus Water Treatment Plant: Commissioning in a Pandemic
Cheryl Gomes, Water Process Engineer
The Arbutus Water Treatment Plant (WTP) is located in the Town of Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, and draws water from 2 surface water sources. The original WTP included chlorine gas disinfection. To meet Island Health’s 4-3-2-1-0 policy, the WTP was upgraded to add dissolved air flotation (DAF) and membrane filtration, with capacity for future expansion to meet 20-year demands (156 L/s). Construction began in 2018 and was completed during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This presentation provides an overview of how all parties worked together to overcome emerging challenges during construction and commissioning, without compromising potable water production for the Town of Ladysmith.
Tuesday, June 1st
Main Stage | 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Integrating Climate Change into Present-Day Engineering Design Decisions - The City of Grand Forks Case Study
Lawrence Bird, Environmental Scientist
In response to catastrophic flooding in 2018, and consistent with their commitment to “building back better” and reducing future flood risk, the City of Grand Forks is completing a comprehensive, city-wide, Flood Mitigation Program (FMP). The FMP includes schematic design of the overarching structural and non-structural flood mitigation works on the Kettle and Granby Rivers, two large river systems in interior BC. With a design life of 50-80 years, proposed flood mitigation works must be resilient against future climate change. To support hydraulic modelling and subsequent engineering design, Associated Environmental Consultants Inc, a subsidiary of the Associated Engineering Group of Companies, completed a hydrologic and climate change assessment to determine potential changes to peak flow events into the future. This presentation aims to demonstrate how climate change analysis can be integrated into risk-informed decision making and support engineering design to increase a community’s resilience and reduce disaster risk.
Tuesday, June 1st
Main Stage | 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Drought Planning in the Okanagan Region of BC
Drew Lejbak, Senior Hydrologist
Climate change, population growth, and land-use change are key drivers affecting the arid 8,000 km2 Okanagan watershed in south-central BC. These changes are making it harder for water suppliers to reliably supply their customers, for farmers to maintain access to a reliable supply of irrigation water throughout the irrigation season, and for water managers to protect aquatic habitat in local streams as streamflows decline and water temperatures increase in late summer. To better prepare for drought conditions, many Okanagan municipalities and water purveyors are developing new (or updating existing) drought management plans to improve their resilience to drought. Water purveyors are also investigating alternative supplies and increased storage. The Okanagan Basin Water Board is also leading a basin-wide approach to drought response planning and watershed scale modelling to support future drought planning initiatives. This presentation will review some key tools and models being used to support drought and water supply planning in the Okanagan watershed, based on work completed for the City of Penticton, Regional District North Okanagan and Okanagan Basin Water Board.
Wednesday, June 2nd
Education Room 4 | 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Community Circle Approach to Providing Drinking Water
Robyn Casement, Water Engineer & Freda Leong, Manager of First Nations Infrastructure
The Lhoos’kuz Dene Nation’s main residential community of Kluskus is situated approximately 200 km west of Quesnel, on Kluskus Lake. Access to Kluskus is by forestry roads and year-round access is difficult/limited during winter and spring thaw. The Nation has been working towards clean, safe, and reliable drinking water for over 20 years, and has been supplying bottled water for drinking/food preparation/cooking since early 2000’s. TRC: Calls to Action states “Commit to meaningful consultation, building respectful relationships, and obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples.” Our commitment to this call to action was through the adoption of a Community Circle Approach for this project. This approach involves open dialogue and idea-sharing from all members of the Community Circle. The aim is to encourage and facilitate full, honest, and respectful collaboration with the Nation from feasibility investigation through to construction and Water Operator training.