Keswick Water Pollution Control Plant wins U.S. award

Upgrades to the Keswick Water Pollution Control plant in the Region of York near Toronto will receive a big award at the American Public Works Association annual congress, which is being held in Toronto on August 18.

The Keswick Effluent Outfall project by Hatch Mott MacDonald is to be named one of APWA’s Public Works Projects of the Year for 2014.

As prime consultant for the project, HMM recommended a combination of open-cut trenching, micro-tunneling, and marine dredging to expand the outfall’s capacity.

The existing outfall was about 1,800 metres long, half on onshore and half offshore.

The expansion involved crossing a complex “five corner” intersection and busy roads, as well as a city park and residential neighbourhoods. The new outfall also had to pass beneath the existing sewer within less than 18 inches.

The geotechnical conditions included soft loose clay and sand, and areas of glacial till containing boulders. The groundwater table is at or near the surface for the entire alignment.

The solution included the first curved micro-tunnel drive completed in Canada, and the first compound curve micro-tunnel drive completed in North America.

The project was carried out on behalf of the Regional Municipality of York, in collaboration with McNally Construction, the general contractor, and Ward and Burke, the micro-tunnel subcontractor.

Hatch Mott MacDonald president and CEO Nick DeNichilo said, “We are proud to be doing our part to safeguard the critical watershed of the Great Lakes region.”

The project has already been recognized as a 2013 Project of the Year by the Ontario Public Works Association.