2024 Top 50 Water Projects Report - Report - Page 32
TOP 50 WATER PROJECTS 2024
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Wabassee Creek Watershed
$56.2 million
Location: Gatineau, PQ
Owner: City of Gatineau
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Nanaimo Midtown Water Main
$55 million
GETTY IMAGES
THE WATERSHED of Gatineau’s Wabassee stream, with an area of
approximately seven square kilometres, joins the Ottawa River via its outlet
in Sanscartier Park. The City of Gatineau has started the infrastructure
program which should allow it, among other things, to better manage
rainwater and improve its resilience for better adaptation to climate
change. The program is subdivided into more than 10 intervention zones
distributed across the watershed.
The program received approval in principle from the Government of
Canada, under the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, to fund 40 per
cent of eligible project expenses. At the time of the funding request, the
program was valued at $56.275 million. •
Location: Nanaimo, B.C.
Owner: City of Nanaimo
Substantial Completion: September 2024
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Beaudet Reservoir, Victoriaville, PQ
$50 million
CITY OF NANAIMO
IN THE early 1980s, a major watermain was installed in Nanaimo using high pressure concrete pipe
(Hyprescon) that was expected to have a lifespan of approximately 80 years, yet it failed prematurely,
and it failed catastrophically. When the Hyprescon pipe failed on April 3, 2020, 22 million litres of
water was lost. This resulted in three reservoirs being completely drained while leaving a hospital
as well as thousands of people without water. It took a few hours to isolate the main, but a temporary
repair was completed, and the hospital and residents had water service restored two days later.
A systematic review of the pipe revealed other signs of future leaks and structural failures, and the
consequences of additional failures would be severe. To manage the risk, several measures were
taken:
1. An emergency water supply shutdown procedure for the Hyprescon pipe section was implemented;
2. The 2021-2025 Capital Plan was reprioritized, and the Midtown Water Supply Project was
introduced;
3. Other major water supply capital projects were deferred in an effort to make way for the Midtown
Water Supply Project and balance the water supply budget within the City’s Financial Plan.
The initial upgrades to replace the Hyprescon pipe were estimated to cost $23.5 million, however,
due to a volatile construction market during COVID, and the addition of a secondary supply for
redundancy, the cost is expected to be closer to $55 million. •
Location: Victoriaville, Que.
Owner: City of Victoriaville
Substantial Completion: November 2023
THE PROJECT consists of setting up a raw water reserve of 110,000 cubic
meters separated from the Beaudet reservoir. The water from the reservoir
is pumped into this new reserve, which supplies the Hamel drinking water
plant. When the water quality of the Beaudet reservoir deteriorates, the
supply is interrupted and the plant uses water from the reserve while
waiting for that in the reservoir to improve.
The project also consists of building permanent infrastructure allowing
annual dredging of sediments. A booster station was constructed to
convey the mixture of water and dredged sediment through a discharge
line to a new sediment dewatering plant. The latter is equipped with a
mechanized treatment chain to separate the sediment from the water. The
dried sediments are transported by trucks to a storage area built within
the project. Construction was completed in 2023 and commissioning will
continue in 2024 and 2025. •
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WATER C AN ADA’S TOP 50 WATER PRO JEC T S
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
