Englishman River Water Treatment Facility

Project Highlights

The Englishman River Water Service (ERWS) is a collaborative endeavour that includes the City of Parksville (Parksville) and the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN).  Responsible for providing potable water supply, treatment and distribution for the growing Parksville area (approx. 12,500 pop.) and northern portions of the RDN (Area E, approx. 5,000 pop.), the ERWS faced significant challenges maintaining sufficient water quantity and quality using existing community groundwater wells and intake gallery located adjacent to the Englishman River.  Jacobs led the new water treatment plant project, and Kerr Wood Leidal was retained as part of the team to design the linear elements of the transmission pipelines of raw and finished treated water.  KWL provided hydrological and river engineering advice for the design of the intake structure, civil design for approximately 7 km of HDPE transmission main up to 750mm in diameter, site servicing for the water treatment plant and pump selection and transient pressure analysis and management for the raw water and high lift pump station, as well as construction management.

The project involved multiple challenges in traversing the 7 km alignment between existing storage reservoirs located at opposite extents of the Parksville community and the new water treatment plant and raw water intake site.  A major river crossing under the Englishman River, multiple rail crossings, traversing geotechnically susceptible embankment slopes, a major highway crossing and multiple retaining wall structures were incorporated into the design.  The cut and cover crossing of the Englishman River required a river diversion under strict permitting requirements.  Old and failing steel culverts at Shelly Creek were replaced with a new 2.m diameter fish-friendly culvert complete with a tail pond and habitat restoration as part of the project.

Contractor Testimony:
“… I’ve been in this business for many years, and the prelim survey, control and design for this job (C2 ERWS) is the best I’ve ever seen…”.