Hardisty Lift Station (2015)

Project Overview
Project Location: Corner of East River Road and Willow Creek Road, Hinton, Alberta

Project Budget:    $300,000 Engineering Detail and Design Costs
                               $4,533,000 Construction Costs

Construction Time Frame:    July, 2014 - September, 2015
Note: The construction of this project will remain in progress throughout the winter with anticipated completion in September, 2015.

Project Scope:
This project constructs a sanitary lift station building above a sanitary wet well and a dry well containment unit. The structure provides the access to the wells and houses the mechanical and electrical instrumentation and operational controls of the lift station. New upsized gravity and forcemain sanitary lines will be connected to existing and new infrastructure.

Private access road infrastructure, site protection fencing and minor landscaping will be built to allow maintenance and service vehicle access 24/7.

Project Understanding:
The Hardisty Lift Station was built in 1958 and saw a mechanical equipment overhaul completed in 1987. The original infrastructure and the refurbished mechanical equipment have reached a life cycle of 55 years on the original structure and 26 years on the mechanical equipment overhaul.

The Town’s growth and development over the past 55 years has added sanitary flows to the lift station with no capacity upgrades. Today, the lift station receives flows that are estimated to be 5 times +/- its original design and as such creates challenges for personnel to access the wells to service mechanical failures and/or sewage blocks.

This project also initiates the necessary upgrades to the main sanitary trunk line that feeds to and from the lift station and subsequently carries flows to the outfall ponds located at West Fraser Mills Ltd. West Fraser Mills Ltd., our local pulp mill, utilizes the raw sewage in their ponds to facilitate in processing and breaking down the waste produced from processing pulp.

Project Partners:
From conception in 2013 through to construction completion, the Town of Hinton and ISL Engineering and Land Services, work in partnership to design, engineer and deliver a project on schedule and budget. Giffels Westpro Infrastructure Ltd., the General Contractor, is the successful bidder from the tendering process and mobilized to site on July 15, 2014.

It is through these partnerships that the project continually progresses towards a successful completion.

Note: Town of Hinton and ISL Engineering and Land Services entered into a 5 Year Standing Offer Agreement in 2012.

Project Specifications:
Existing Lift Station: The existing lift station structure is approximately 370 sq. ft with a wet well volume of 92 cu. m. and a dry well volume of 143 cu. m. The forcemain sanitary line from the existing station has a diameter of 250 mm and the existing gravity sanitary line has a diameter of 375 mm.

New Lift Station: The lift station structure is 1,085 sq. ft. and houses the mechanical equipment, electrical instrumentation, operational controls, back-up generator and personnel access to the dry and wet wells.

The wet well structure is rectangular in shape (6.9m by 4.8m); is constructed 13m below ground, and has a volume of 430 cu. m.
The dry well structure is 6.8m by 6.9m; is constructed 6m below ground and has a volume of 280 cu. m.
The forcemain sanitary line from the station has a diameter of 400mm.
The gravity sanitary line connection into the wet well has a diameter of 500mm.

Key Design and Construction Factors:
The design of the Hardisty Lift Station was able to minimize some construction restraints but was not able to mitigate all due to site location and ground conditions. The key challenges are:

Maintaining the operations of and access to the existing lift station and sanitary lines until the new lift station is fully commissioned and operating.
Maintaining traffic flow on East River Road for business and large industrial traffic as there is no safe alternative traffic access route in this area.
The location of the lift station was designed to be within proximity of the existing sanitary trunk line and lift station so that we could continue using some of the existing infrastructure.
The ground conditions are not favorable as they consist primarily of pit run. The site is located between a major resource road and a slope that cannot be compromised during the construction.
Underground streams are known to be present in the area and flows can vary depending on weather and season. Leaving the site subject to water infiltration.
The construction area is limited in size and creates challenges in the excavation and storage of materials and equipment on site during construction.
Utility (Fortis, Atco, Communications) relocation above and below ground require careful coordination to minimize service disruption.
The construction schedule is subject to weather conditions and our existing lift station is on borrowed time leaving no room for error or unforeseen delays.