Five special winners in the 2013 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards

Last night, October 22, the winning projects in the 2013 Canadian Consulting Engineering awards were handed out at a gala dinner at the Ottawa Convention Centre in the nation’s capital.

This year a record 20 Awards of Excellence were given — up from 12 in previous years. As well, there were five special awards were given. Historically there have been only two special awards — the Schreyer Award for technical achievement and the Tree for Life Award for environmental stewardship. In addition this year we presented the Ambassador Award for a Canadian project overseas, the Engineering a Better Canada Award, and the Outreach Award.

Now in their 45th year, the Canadian Consulting Engineering awards are the highest recognition for excellence in the Canadian consulting engineering industry. The program is a joint initiative of the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Canada (ACEC) and Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine. Commenting on their significance, ACEC president John Gamble said: “These awards showcase the important role of Canadian consulting engineers in every aspect of our lives.”

Following is a list of the award-winning projects. For a full description and photographs of each project, click here.

Schreyer Award

(presented to a project that best demonstrates technical excellence and innovation):

– West Edmonton Sanitary Sewer Stage W12, Edmonton

– SMA Consulting & Associated Engineering

The Rat Creek outfall in Edmonton released 2 billion litres of combined stormwater and sewage into the North Saskatchewan River every year. To remedy the situation, Associated Engineering designed the W12 syphon tunnel under the river to carry the combined sewer overflow (CSO) to a treatment plant. SMA Consulting provided decision support and project controls for the tunnel’s planning and construction. The result is that from November 2011 to July 2012, the W12 tunnel reduced Rat Creek combined sewer overflows by 100%.

Tree for Life Award

(presented to a project that best demonstrates outstanding environmental stewardship)

– Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Oven Sites Remediation; Sydney, Nova Scotia

– AECOM and CBCL

The Sydney Tar Ponds near the centre of Sydney, Nova Scotia are the result of over 100 years of steel production. The industry had left behind by-products and contaminants in the soil, groundwater, and sediments and is one of Canada’s largest and most complex industrially polluted sites. AECOM and primary subconsultant CBCL provided the detailed design and construction oversight of the $400-million remediation. Completed on budget and ahead of schedule, the project is now Canada’s signature contaminated site remediation project.

Ambassador Award

(presented to a project constructed or executed outside of Canada, which best showcases Canadian engineering expertise):

– Allain Duhangan Hydroelectric Project, Hymachal Pradesh, India

– AECOM

AECOM designed and supervised the construction of a 192-MW underground run-of-river hydroelectric project high in the Northern Himalayas of India, harnessing the flow of two rivers. The plant will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 5 million tons over 10 years and supply electricity to populations struggling with frequent shortages.

Engineering a Better Canada Award

(presented to a project that best showcases how engineering enhances the social, economic or cultural quality of life of Canadians):

– Seismic Retrofit Guidelines for BC Schools

– Ausenco Engineering Canada, Bush Bohlman & Partners, Read Jones Christoffersen, GENIVAR

The consulting engineers were part of a unique collaboration between government, academia and the engineering community to develop tools that enable structural engineers to rapidly and consistently determine the seismic risk of existing buildings and optimize retrofits.

Outreach Award

(presented for a company’s role in donating their time and/or services for the benefit of a community or group either in Canada or on the international stage):

– Golder Associates Charitable Initiatives

– Golder Associates, Calgary

To uphold its commitment to sustainable development, Golder continually strives to make positive contributions to local communities, its own Golder Trust for Orphans, and other national or international non-governmental organizations.

Awards of Excellence

Awards of Excellence went to the five projects listed above, and to the following 15 projects:

BUILDINGS

Centre for Sustainable Development/Maison du développement durable, Montreal

– Bouthillette Parizeau

Redevelopment of Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto

– exp Services

Surrey City Centre Library, Surrey, B.C.

– Fast + Epp

Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre, University of Waterloo, Ont.

– Halsall Associates

TRANSPORTATION

Winnipeg’s First Rapid Transit Corridor – Southwest Transitway

– Dillon Consulting

Squamish Pedestrian Overpass, Squamish, B.C.

– Hatch Mott MacDonald

WATER RESOURCES

Lorne Park Water Treatment Plant Expansion, Mississauga, Ont.

– AECOM with GENIVAR

Exshaw Municipal Water System, Exshaw, Alta.

– ISL Engineering and Land Services

ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION

Harvest Energy Garden, Richmond, B.C.

– Opus DaytonKnight Consultants

NATURAL RESOURCES, MINING, INDUSTRY & ENERGY

Palo Viejo Hydroelectric Project, Quiche, Guatemala

– Hatch

Alexandra District Energy Geothermal System, Richmond, B.C.

– Stantec Consulting

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Rewriting the History of the Khmer Empire, Cambodia

– McElhanney Consulting Services, Vancouver

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Deh Cho Bridge, Fort Providence, Northwest Territories

– Associated Engineering

Calgary’s West LRT Project, Alberta

– Hatch Mott MacDonald

INTERNATIONAL

SIEPAC Network: engineering, construction, contracts management and works supervision, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama

– Dessau International, Montreal

The award winners were selected by a panel of 12 independent jurors.

Program sponsors:

ACEC represents companies in Canada that provide professional engineering services to both public and private-sector clients. These services include planning, designing and executing all types of engineering projects, as well as providing independent advice and expertise in a wide range of engineering and engineering-related fields.

Canadian Consulting Engineer is a bi-monthly magazine for engineers in private practice. It is a division of BIG Magazines LP of Toronto. The award-winning projects are described in full in the October-November 2013 issue of Canadian Consulting Engineer. Click here.

Contacts:

Bronwen Parsons

Canadian Consulting Engineer

bparsons@ccemag.com

416-510-5119

Laura Allardyce

Association of Consulting Engineering Companies

lallardyce@acec.ca

613-236-0569