WCW26

Nametags will be required for all Conference events.

Quiet Lounge is open all week for all attendees to promote your conference wellness.

Break your fast for the last day of sessions.

The NEWPCC Upgrade is the largest capital upgrade the City of Winnipeg has ever undertaken, and has been divided into 3 phases, which are currently in different stages of construction, design, and procurement. The second phase is the Biosolids upgrade, which is being delivered as a Progressive Design Build (PDB). The design phase of this Biosolids PDB continues until summer 2026, when construction will begin after. In the PDB model, design development, contract negotiations, and risk transfer are openly discussed between the construction Design Builder (DB) and City, with full open book costing occurring.
In these negotiations it was discovered that the DB was holding significant risk in protecting the existing infrastructure on site.  While the Biosolids Upgrade will be primarily constructed on greenspace with piping tie-ins as necessary, there is an existing wastewater interceptor which traverses through the greenspace to discharge at the headworks of NEWPCC. This monolithic 1500 mm (60”) concrete pipe, tunneled in the late 1970’s that is approximately 13-14m deep through the site, could be less than 10m away from the piling of the future Biosolids buildings. This existing infrastructure impacted how the design was selected, and construction planned to minimize vibrations. Significant risk money had been added into the project to protect this existing infrastructure.
The City team, with guidance from AECOM as their technical advisor, reviewed this risk and found that upgrading the interceptor with a CIPP liner, prior to construction of the Biosolids Upgrade could result in significant savings, and risk mitigation. This was agreed collaboratively with the Biosolids contractor to indeed have significant savings, which then assisting in deciding on next steps.
The lining of the interceptor became a separate project which was started, and completed prior to the finalization of the design phase of the Biosolids Upgrade. Design, bypass pumping, and liner installation occurred during winter 2026.
The outcome of this project allowed a higher vibration limit to be considered during the Biosolids upgrade. This resulted in a modification to the piling design, and constructability, with reduced capital cost and risk.

The City of Winnipeg’s Aqueduct was constructed between 1914 and 1919 and supplies potable water to a population of 800,000 from Shoal Lake at the Ontario/Manitoba border. While a majority of the 155 km length flows by gravity, the portion within the City operates under pressure, was constructed from 1650 and 1200 mm pre-cast concrete pressure pipe, and is now known as the Branch I Aqueduct, supplying 40% of Winnipeg’s potable water.
 
Winnipeg’s clay soils are high in sulphates which causes a breakdown of the cementitious matrix in concrete structures. This was a known phenomenon at the time of construction, but as sulphate resistant cement had not been invented in 1914, Engineers opted for high quality concrete and the use of an underdrain system, to control groundwater and, by extension, reduce sulphate attack on the pipe. The underdrain was constructed from 150 to 300 mm clay tile pipe with open joints to permit the infiltration of groundwater, akin to a French drain, and discharges to the Seine River, Red River, and the combined sewer system. 
 
Following a 2021 condition assessment program, the City initiated a repair program to address urgent repairs on the Branch I Aqueduct Underdrain. The project included the repair of three river outfalls, the elimination of two connections to the combined sewer system, and the repair of defects along approximately 2 km of the underdrain. Challenges, to completing the repairs included limited access to the underdrain via 750 mm manholes, repairs beneath active rail tracks, and working near the City’s GWWD railway. Repairs using trenchless technologies were prioritized where possible using both cured in place pipe (CIPP) lining and CIPP spot repairs. However, where open cut repairs were required, the Branch I Aqueduct needed to be carefully exposed and unloaded to prevent inadvertent movement of the pipe. 
 
The repair project has restored the functionality of the underdrain within the project area, focusing on maintaining the underdrain functionality by using spot repairs (external and internal), full length lining in portions where underdrain functionality is not required, and replacement where trenchless rehabilitation was not feasible. As a result of this program, the Branch I Aqueduct continues to be protected against sulphate attack by the underdrain and is expected to continue to serve the City of Winnipeg for years to come.

Twenty-five years ago, the US National Research Council considered potable reuse a “solution of last resort.” Today, it is a mainstream water supply option in the western United States, and is increasingly being implemented in eastern States. In Canada, water reuse has been practiced since the 1970’s, first in the Okanagan Valley as a means of addressing nutrient loading; today, discussions regarding water reuse have re-emerged in response to modern water challenges. Alberta’s upcoming Water Amendment Act (Bill 7) and regional initiatives including the City of Calgary’s Water Scarcity Roadmap and Water Reuse Assessment signal a renewed national focus on potable reuse at home.  

Treatment technology selection is a careful balance of regulatory preference, source water quality, and public perception. The rapid implementation of reuse technologies in the United States has been enabled by extensive academic research, public engagement efforts, and demonstration facilities ranging from proof-of-concept trailers, to simple outdoor pilots, to “museum-quality” permanent installations.

Historically, potable reuse facilities relied on reverse osmosis- based advanced treatment (RBAT), which is a codified requirement in some US states (notably California). As potable reuse expands into new markets, however, carbon-based advanced treatment (CBAT) has emerged as an equivalent treatment approach, with reduced cost and operational complexity. This shift has been the subject of extensive research through the Water Research Foundation, beginning with Project #1695 (Equivalency of Advanced Treatment Trains for Potable Reuse) published in 2016, followed by numerous studies exploring treatment performance, process innovations and optimization, monitoring, and validation. Early full-scale Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR) projects, where reclaimed water is introduced into an environmental buffer (reservoir or groundwater) use CBAT, including a facility on the Upper Occoquan (VA), followed by Gwinnett County (GA), and now at Hampton Roads (VA). This enables communities to pursue potable reuse without the cost of RO membranes, or needing to dispose of RO concentrate.

Now, CBAT projects push utilities towards the last frontier: Direct Potable Reuse (DPR), where purified recycled water is introduced directly back into the drinking water supply without first passing through an environmental buffer. Starting in 2017 with the international award-winning pureALTA DPR demonstration project in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and followed thereafter by similar projects in Florida (One Water Polk), Utah (Pure SoJo), and Tennessee (multiple), CBAT is being established as a viable and cost-effective approach to DPR where desalination is not required.

This presentation will begin with an overview of potable reuse technologies and their implementation across Canada and the United States. It will then discuss our understanding of CBAT performance, starting with results from WRF 1695 and subsequent research, continuing to case studies from the CBAT DPR demonstration facilities listed above, and a sneak peek at the most recent XBAT testing data. Finally, the presentation will conclude with a brief overview of a customizable CBAT process model based on all of these data, allowing utilities to explore options for potable reuse, including what specific CBAT configurations may be best for them.

Whitehorse’s stormwater system operates under a challenging mix of steep terrain, cold-climate hydrology, and limited monitoring data; conditions that demand a modelling approach beyond typical urban drainage assumptions. This work developed a city-wide stormwater modelling framework for the City of Whitehorse, including catchment delineation, construction of an integrated PCSWMM model, and advanced GIS workflows to evaluate drainage performance under historical conditions, climate change, and rain-on-snow scenarios. More than 850 catchments and 150 drainage networks were generated using high-resolution elevation and infrastructure datasets, revealing technical challenges related to snowmelt representation, parameter selection, connectivity assumptions, and large dataset management. Results identified capacity constraints, localized flooding mechanisms, culvert bottlenecks, and sediment-sensitive conveyance issues. Recommendations focus on improving GIS-based asset inventories, expanding long-term monitoring to support calibration, refining modelling methods for northern conditions, and strengthening defensible stormwater planning for cold-climate municipalities.

The City of Melfort and Catterall & Wright Consulting Engineers (CWCE) have a long history of working together to tackle municipal infrastructure projects. While many things have changed in the decades since this first project in 1989, many of the challenges facing municipalities and engineering consultants have remained the same. Current Director of Public Works, Kalyna Cipywnyk, and Associate Partner with CWCE, Eric Melendez-Duke, have partnered to bring their unique perspectives together to discuss the opportunities and obstacles of working in the municipal world, particularly when delivering infrastructure projects with limited budgets and aging systems.


Using the City of Melfort’s ongoing efforts to improve their water infrastructure network as a starting point, Kalyna and Eric will share their thoughts on the importance of good working relationships, effective communication, and creative thinking, and how the presence (or lack) of these elements can ultimately influence project success, timelines, and final budget. This presentation will provide both owner and consultant perspectives on infrastructure renewal planning, project delivery, and adapting to new technologies.


This joint presentation will cover the following topics:

• Brief History of Melfort Water Infrastructure
• Operational Challenges (Aging Infrastructure, Limited Budgets)
• Watermain Renewal Strategy – 2019-Present
  1. Firsts for Melfort – Cured In Place Pipe, Water Master Plan
  2. Implementation of New Technology
  3. Preventing water loss = cost savings
• Current Consulting Contract
  1. Benefits of Value Based Procurement – Owner and Consultant Perspective
• Service Levels – Using technical data to meet resident expectations.
• Lessons Learned

The ultimate goal of this presentation is to provide practical insight into how municipalities and consultants can work together to deliver cost-effective, sustainable water infrastructure improvements, while maintaining service levels and meeting community expectations. Attendees will leave with lessons learned and strategies that can be applied to their own infrastructure renewal programs, regardless of municipality size.

Lagoons remain the backbone of wastewater treatment infrastructure for many small and medium sized prairie communities due to their simplicity and cost-effectiveness. However, meeting increasingly stringent effluent nutrient limits, especially during cold weather, poses a significant challenge at lagoon facilities. This presentation explores approaches to post-lagoon nitrification, ammonia and phosphorus removal tailored to the unique climatic and operational constraints of the Canadian prairies. We draw on recent experience on advanced lagoon system projects including implementing post-lagoon moving bed bioreactors (MBBRs) to examine how nutrient removal unit processes can be retrofitted to existing lagoons and function effectively in low temperatures. The session will highlight practical design considerations and lessons learned.

The Water Security Agency (WSA) in Saskatchewan has the legislative authority to regulate water and wastewater treatment systems and enforce standards with respect to drinking water and wastewater quality in the province. Recently, the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water (CDW) published the drinking water quality objective of 30 ng/L for Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. The WSA is part of the CDW will adopt the PFAS objective in the province. Before adoption of the objective, the WSA would like to conduct a scientific study that include determining the exposure levels of PFAS in Saskatchewan waters at selective water, wastewater treatment plants and receiving waters. The study will also aim to determine the treatment efficiency and assess other impacts, if any.  The science needed to assess the impacts of these compounds on the human health is still emerging.  The objective of the study is to determine the occurrence and concentrations of PFAS from selective water and wastewater treatment plants and downstream locations of wastewater treatment plants that discharge treated effluent into fish bearing waters in the province. The results will be useful in determining the exposure levels of PFAS in Saskatchewan waters and treatment efficiency that will help in adopting PFAS objective in the province. This paper includes the results of sampling/research studies that are conducted up to date to determine the exposure levels PFAS in water.  

Each wastewater treatment facility faces unique influent characteristics, making site-specific screening evaluations critical for optimizing headworks performance. At Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew), field testing was performed to assess existing coarse and fine mechanical screens and evaluate alternative configurations.
Using on-site screening capture testing, various combinations of coarse and fine sieve openings and geometries were tested under average dry-weather conditions. Results showed the existing coarse screens removed an average of 0.7 cubic feet of solids per million gallons (CF/MG). In contrast, a configuration of a 19 mm slotted coarse screen followed by a 6 mm perforated plate fine screen achieved an average Screen Capture Ratio of 52%—a projected threefold increase in solids removal.
Beyond capture efficiency, testing provided valuable insight into screen hydraulics, blinding tendencies, and compatibility with existing infrastructure. This approach demonstrates how field data can guide screen selection, improve debris removal, reduce downstream maintenance, and extend equipment service life.
The case underscores the value of empirical testing in headworks design. By quantifying capture rates, headloss behavior, and solids characteristics, utilities can make more informed upgrade decisions tailored to their specific flow conditions and operational priorities.

The City of Saskatoon’s Waterworks Program is a $500M portfolio of small, medium, and large capital projects slated for delivery over the next decade. Designed to increase treatment capacity, enhance system resilience, and ensure continued regulatory compliance, the program's cornerstone is the construction of a second water treatment plant (WTP).


During the Program Definition phase, the City conducted an extensive evaluation of project delivery methods, including market soundings, jurisdictional scans, and a formal procurement options analysis. This process culminated in the selection of Construction Management at Risk (CMAR) as the preferred delivery model. As this marks the first instance of using CMAR for the City of Saskatoon, the organization adopted a strategic risk-management approach: staging the portfolio to deliver a medium-sized trial project before embarking on the $400M WTP facility. This CMAR trial, the Pumping Upgrades and Residuals Enhancement (PURE) project, is in the design phase with construction planned to begin in 2027.


While CMAR is a somewhat well-established delivery method in Western Canada, it should be considered as a framework rather than a rigid set of instructions. Owners must evaluate their goals and objectives, understand their organizational context, and select a delivery method that meets their needs.  Project delivery methods are not "silver bullets" that guarantee positive outcomes. Ultimately, people—not just processes—build projects.


Owners and project teams must navigate a complex set of decisions when implementing a new project delivery method. Through "fact-finding" missions, project tours, formal learning opportunities, and by leveraging the appropriate internal and external resources, the City of Saskatoon has developed a specific approach for implementing a CMAR trial project. This presentation will detail why CMAR was selected and will explore the key decisions made in developing Saskatoon’s implementation plan.


Attendees will gain insight into:

• Key choices available within the CMAR model.
• Options for self-performed work and subcontractor procurement.
• Choosing the right form of agreement.
• Compensation model for pre-construction and construction phases.
• Early work package considerations and the importance of the "off-ramp."

By sharing Saskatoon’s journey, this presentation aims to help identify potential CMAR pitfalls and highlight the necessary safeguards that are intended to increase the likelihood of successful project delivery. 

In both Australia and Canada, access to potable water in many Indigenous communities is a challenge due to systemic issues; including a historic lack of investment, ageing infrastructure, and challenges associated with logistics in small remote communities. Equitable water access drives the need for water treatment plant (WTP) upgrades and their respective designs to holistically consider community needs. 
In Canada, a combination of systemic and historical challenges has led to the prevalence and persistence of boil water advisories. These advisories necessitate WTP upgrades and adequate staffing to provide a reliable supply. Though 151 long-term drinking water advisories have been lifted since November 2015 on public systems, there are still 39 long-term drinking water advisories in effect in at least 37 First Nations public water systems across Canada under long-term drinking water advisories as of February 10, 2026.  
The Australian Government has also committed to support the delivery of water infrastructure, which includes the National Water Grid’s $150M commitment towards water security in First Nations communities. One of the goals includes 9b. Closing the Gap. This goal by aims to have all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households either: 1) receiving essential services that meet or exceed the relevant jurisdictional standards or, if near a town, 2) essential services to those households shall meet or surpass the standards generally applied within that town by 2031. 
The purpose of this presentation is to review two case studies and discuss parallels, challenges, and lessons learned for design considerations needed in WTPs in remote Indigenous communities. The two case studies are located in Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories, Canada and Bamaga, Northern Peninsula Area (Cape York), Queensland. Despite differences in climate and geography, both projects reveal parallels in project delivery and lessons learned that may support future drinking water equity for Indigenous communities globally.
While financial estimates and technical performance are usually prioritised in the optioneering process for selecting the best treatment processes for a source water, remote Indigenous communities face unique needs in the design and operation of potable water infrastructure beyond the traditional financial and technical inputs. This includes public perception, which requires building trust with local stakeholders, aligning staffing requirements with available skillsets, and managing complex construction costs and logistics. These considerations were critical to the implementation of both projects. The review and assessment included comparisons where applicable in the following focus areas: prediction of water demand, raw water quality, selection of water treatment processes, ease of delivery access, decision modelling principles, cost estimation factors, and construction considerations. This multi-faceted approach allowed for an exploration of both the conceptual and practical challenges involved in water treatment design for remote Indigenous communities in varying phases of delivery, from planning through construction and commissioning. 
This assessment revealed interesting parallels in challenges faced. Identifying shared obstacles in projects serving Indigenous communities can help uncover opportunities for improvement. By integrating these lessons learned into future designs, we can better understand barriers and further advancement for water equity access around the globe.
 

In several Saskatoon neighbourhoods built after 2004, homeowners have raised concerns with the perpetual operation of foundation drainage sump pumps. Continuous pumping to the surface has created year-round issues such as algae growth, ice buildup and drainage onto driveways, sidewalks, lanes and adjacent parks.
The current workaround permits discharge of sump pump effluent into the sanitary sewer system during the winter months, resulting in reduction of sanitary sewer capacity and water being unnecessarily treated by the WWTP at additional cost. This does not address the summer discharge concerns and enforcement is lacking for switching back to surface discharge in the summer.


This has been an issue in Saskatoon for many years with previous mitigation strategies producing limited or short-term success. To address this, the City of Saskatoon launched a comprehensive review project in 2025. The project has completed a review of how other municipalities manage the issue, conducted a residential survey and completed an internal multi-departmental workshop to brainstorm solutions. 
Ongoing work includes feasibility assessments for the preferred options and once completed, engagement with the land development and home building industry will occur to understand the impacts of the preferred options. 


The presentation will provide a history of how this multi-decade issue was created, the results from the municipal scan and the residential survey. The preferred options will be presented and their positives and negatives discussed. If industry engagement is completed before the conference, these results will also be shared along with the project’s next steps towards a long-term resolution.

For engineers and operators, lagoon sludge is often misdiagnosed as a simple capacity issue requiring high-cost dredging or desludging. This session presents a paradigm shift based on over 800 bathymetric sludge and sediment surveys, demonstrating that sludge accumulation is actually a key indicator of pond performance. We will dissect correlations between sludge markers and facility performance, showing how "failing" assets can often be recovered without total rehabilitation. The presentation also addresses increasing sludge contaminants and their impact on disposal logistics.
Drawing on data from successful facilities, this session equips stakeholders with evidence-based strategies to assess true dredging needs, mitigate environmental risk, and delay capital expenditure.
Attendees will learn to:
-Differentiate between capacity issues and biological inefficiencies.
-Identify risks of premature dredging versus targeted adjustments.
-Apply survey data to extend asset lifecycles.
 

Time to hydrate and meet someone new!

Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is rapidly evolving from a billing-focused technology into a foundational data source for utility-wide operational intelligence. As utilities expand metering programs and pursue digital transformation initiatives, the next generation of AMI—AMI 2.0—enables organizations to leverage high-resolution consumption data to address persistent challenges such as non-revenue water, leak detection, and system inflow and infiltration (I&I) awareness.


By integrating AMI data with operational, hydraulic, and environmental datasets, Utilities can generate actionable insights across both customer and system levels. By integrating AMI data with operational, hydraulic, and environmental datasets, Utilities can generate actionable insights across both customer and system levels. Influenced by implementation work with the City of Immokalee, Florida, this approach demonstrates how continuous meter analytics can identify abnormal flow patterns, persistent consumption, and nighttime flow conditions that indicate leaks or operational inefficiencies.  When aggregated and contextualized, meter data also provides valuable system-level indicators that help utilities better understand flow anomalies and potential I&I impacts, enabling more targeted investigation and response.


AMI 2.0 shifts the role of smart meters from passive measurement devices ('cash registers') to active components of a utility’s digital ecosystem. By combining advanced analytics, data integration, and scalable enterprise architecture, utilities can move beyond reactive workflows toward proactive operations that improve water accountability, optimize field resources, and strengthen infrastructure planning.


As water metering adoption accelerates across regions such as Western Canada, utilities have an opportunity to design programs that maximize long-term value from the outset. Leveraging AMI data for both leak detection and broader system intelligence supports improved resiliency, operational efficiency, and measurable return on investment while establishing a scalable foundation for future analytics and AI-driven applications.

The Rossdale Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Edmonton, Alberta is a legacy facility originally constructed in 1947 and currently supplies approximately 35% of the city’s potable water demand. Faced with accelerated projected population growth and the need for reliable long-term supply, EPCOR required a strategy to increase firm net potable capacity from 300 to 375 ML/d, a 25% increase, without greenfield expansion. The plant’s location within the North Saskatchewan River valley, combined with legacy-designated structures and an operational facility serving over 400,000 people, presented significant constraints on the scope and execution of potential upgrades.
A comprehensive capacity assessment was completed through five sequential technical memoranda (TM1–TM5), each targeting a major process system: raw water intake and low-lift pumping (TM1), flocculation and clarification (TM2), filtration and UV disinfection (TM3), and reservoir conveyance and high-lift pumping (TM4). Hydraulic modelling confirmed that all four systems were capacity-constrained, with firm capacities ranging from 238 to 273 ML/d against a target gross demand of 416 ML/d (accounting for 10% in-plant process losses). Fifteen upgrade alternatives were developed spanning from targeted, internal structural modifications to full redundancy construction. TM5 integrated these findings through a structured multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework incorporating weighted criteria derived from stakeholder workshops. Five evaluation criteria were applied to quantitative risk adjustment, sensitivity analysis, and quadrant analysis, testing the robustness of rankings: operations and maintenance, constructability, capital cost, performance, and facilities siting.
The analysis demonstrated that targeted upgrades to existing infrastructure consistently outperformed high-cost green field replacement or process technology upgrades. The recommended program comprises four coordinated investments: replacement of low-lift pumps and twinning  influent piping to resolve the most critical bottleneck; expansion of tube settler coverage and effluent launders to increase clarification capacity; high-volume filter underdrain and media upgrades to increase filtration loading rates pending pilot confirmation; and replacement of a hydraulic restriction in the East Flume chamber to eliminate the reservoir conveyance bottleneck. The integrated strategy achieves the targeted  375 ML/d firm capacity at an estimated AACE Class 5 capital cost of $130.6M (2025 CAD). A phased implementation plan aligns capital expenditure with capacity trigger points through 2036, allowing investment to be deferred or accelerated in response to actual demand growth.
This presentation presents the decision framework, key technical findings, and lessons learned from each process assessment. The methodology offers a transferable approach for utilities across Western Canada facing similar challenges: how to extract meaningful capacity gains from aging treatment infrastructure through disciplined, risk-informed investment planning rather than defaulting to costly greenfield construction.

Alternative procurement models beside lump sum contracts have been becoming increasingly popular over time. A Construction Management contract (CCDC5A) offers owners the opportunity to improve constructability and potentially get more cost certainty. Based on extensive experience with this contract type, this presentation will focus on defining what is a Construction Management Contract, what are the pros and cons of this contract type and how to best use this contract type, since a tool is only as good as its user. This presentation will include lessons learned from past projects to teach what works well and what doesn't. 

Alberta’s Regional Water and Wastewater Assessment Initiative (RWWAI) brought together regional water and wastewater commissions representing over 200 municipalities and 1.07 Million Albertans to examine the current state of critical infrastructure across the province. Through data-driven analysis and collaborative engagement, the initiative explores governance, rate-setting, asset management, emergency preparedness, and long-term funding needs. This session will share early findings, highlight common challenges, and discuss how regional collaboration can support resilient, affordable water and wastewater systems over the next 5, 10, and 50 years.

An effective Project Management Office (PMO) can provide the structure to capture what works, turn lessons into repeatable practices, and disseminate those practices across projects, teams and regions.This interactive session explores how the PMO supports the development and application of The 4 P’s of Water Project Management as a practical framework for strengthening project delivery within a WCDA informed project environment.
Using water-sector stories, project examples and audience participation, we will examine how a PMO helps create greater consistency in project alignment, decision-making, communication, risk awareness, learning and execution while allowing teams the flexibility required for different interest holders, projects and delivery models. A well-designed PMO can help organizations capture knowledge, reinforce effective behaviours, align project teams around common priorities and continuously improve the way projects are delivered to a high standard of care to internal and external interest holders.

Infrastructure project delivery methodology is changing, particularly in the areas of water and wastewater. Projects delivered using traditional methods such as Design-Bid-Build (one of the most common and well-understood models), have historically promised stability, certainty, and confidence. However, in the years following COVID, the industry has experienced continued uncertainty and instability, causing project delivery to evolve. Systems are more complex, supply chains and constructability challenges remain significant, and owners are demanding more for their money – forcing a paradigm shift. Projects are also being accelerated, with phased permitting and more responsive procurement and supply chain needs becoming desperate to meet owner demands and expectations.  
Regardless of which role we play in infrastructure project delivery – including owners, project managers, engineers, and construction experts – we have all experienced significant challenges and negative impacts. As an industry, we need to take a step back and navigate an improved path forward to meet the unique challenges facing today’s projects. Collaborative delivery models and methodology are now part of the mainstream conversation, and Canada is continuing to experience more project teams exploring these model applications.
The alternative and collaborative delivery methodology is centred around the relational and alternative contracts that intentionally embed collaborative elements. This includes Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), Progressive Design Build (PDB), and Alliancing. These contract models all focus on integrated and interpersonal practices that break down silos within the industry, especially between owners and project teams, as well as between design and construction professionals. They emphasize early contractor involvement to enable design-to-budget and constructability, address supply chain availabilities, and increase the use of innovative construction practices. These models place greater focus on proactive, integrated, adaptive, and agile planning systems to reconcile and balance all variables in improved ways to achieve owners' value proposition working within time and budget constraints. This shift has also raised increased awareness on the importance of the more humanistic domains and related topics for work team environments, including team performance, engagement, behaviors, trust and culture.   Lastly and possibly more importantly, these methods also have proven themselves as a way to lower risk, stabilize schedule, and navigate our increased complexity.  
This session will explore the new and emerging methodologies that are playing out across North America in infrastructure and dig into the key opportunities and challenges associated with delivering them. The presenters will draw on their collaborative coaching expertise related to these models – the good, the bad, and the complex. In the end, attendees will walk away with a clearer understanding of how to determine when to consider these models, and how to prepare for improved successful implementation and participation.

We are inundated with information in all ways, shapes, and forms; from our cell phones, televisions, and computers, isolating information and presenting what information requires action has become essential. Standardized SCADA alarm systems are powerful tools that can be utilized in this process. It is imperative to provide warnings about developing situations so Operators can take timely corrective action. Alarms can be interruptive by nature and must be carefully managed to minimize the number of nuisance alarm activations. Unnecessary alarm activations can significantly drain operational staff resources in terms of staff time, after-hours call-outs, and workload in each plant's control room.
The International Society of Automation 18.2 describes systematically reviewing and documenting alarms to help diagnose and respond to abnormal situations. The standard outlines mandatory and recommended practices for a lifecycle approach to alarm management. Standardized work processes are used to design, implement, maintain, and monitor the alarm system.  

Oil sands process water (OSPW), generated during bitumen extraction in northern Alberta, is produced in very large volumes and contains a complex mixture of inorganic salts, suspended solids, residual hydrocarbons, and organic contaminants. Among these, naphthenic acids (NAs) are recognized as the primary contributors to OSPW toxicity due to their structural diversity, persistence, and resistance to conventional treatment. In the absence of approved discharge regulations, OSPW is stored in tailings ponds, leading to steadily increasing volumes and significant environmental and public health concerns. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as UVC/H₂O₂ and ozonation have been investigated but are often energy‑intensive and depend on continuous chemical inputs, motivating the development of more sustainable, solar‑driven treatment technologies.
This work investigates tin oxide (SnO₂)–based photocatalysts modified with silver (Ag) for solar‑driven degradation of NAs in real OSPW. SnO₂ is an attractive photocatalyst owing to its strong oxidative potential, chemical stability, low toxicity, and favorable electronic properties. Ag is incorporated to form SnO₂/Ag heterojunctions with the objective of enhancing charge separation and suppressing electron–hole recombination. Material characterization confirmed successful heterojunction formation and uniform Ag dispersion.
Photocatalytic performance was assessed using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy to monitor fluorescent organic compounds and conventional NA analysis to quantify removal. Raw OSPW exhibited characteristic fluorescence peaks associated with single‑ and multiring aromatics. Under simulated solar irradiation, photolysis and unmodified SnO₂ produced minimal changes in fluorescence intensity, indicating limited degradation. In contrast, an optimally Ag‑modified SnO₂/Ag catalyst produced a pronounced reduction in all major fluorescence peaks, particularly those linked to multi‑ring aromatics, demonstrating substantially enhanced photocatalytic activity. NA degradation followed similar trends, with simpler O₂‑substituted NAs being more readily oxidized than more complex and highly oxidized species. Performance decreased at both lower and higher Ag contents, with excessive Ag loading leading to increased charge recombination and light‑shielding effects, consistent with photoluminescence results. Kinetic analysis indicated pseudo‑first‑order behavior, and dark adsorption controls confirmed that removal was dominated by photocatalytic oxidation rather than sorption.
Mechanistic studies using radical scavengers identified hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) as the primary reactive species driving NA degradation. The optimized SnO₂/Ag catalyst maintained high removal efficiency over multiple reuse cycles with minimal Ag leaching, indicating good stability and reusability under solar irradiation. Toxicological assessment of treated OSPW showed a strong reduction in immunotoxic responses, demonstrating that the process not only removes target organics but also substantially mitigates biological effects. In addition, two new performance indicators were introduced to support more robust comparison of photocatalytic systems for complex industrial effluents such as OSPW.
Overall, this study demonstrates that optimally engineered SnO₂/Ag photocatalysts can deliver efficient, solar‑driven degradation of NAs and significant toxicity reduction in real OSPW. At an optimum catalyst dose of 0.5 g/L, the SnO₂/Ag (5%) catalyst achieved around 90% removal of the O₂‑NAs and a strong decrease in immunotoxic responses. These results highlight SnO₂/Ag photocatalysis as a promising and more sustainable pathway for tailings water remediation.
Oil sands process water (OSPW), generated during bitumen extraction in northern Alberta, is produced in very large volumes and contains a complex mixture of inorganic salts, suspended solids, residual hydrocarbons, and organic contaminants. Among these, naphthenic acids (NAs) are recognized as the primary contributors to OSPW toxicity due to their structural diversity, persistence, and resistance to conventional treatment. In the absence of approved discharge regulations, OSPW is stored in tailings ponds, leading to steadily increasing volumes and significant environmental and public health concerns. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) such as UVC/H₂O₂ and ozonation have been investigated but are often energy‑intensive and depend on continuous chemical inputs, motivating the development of more sustainable, solar‑driven treatment technologies.
This work investigates tin oxide (SnO₂)–based photocatalysts modified with silver (Ag) for solar‑driven degradation of NAs in real OSPW. SnO₂ is an attractive photocatalyst owing to its strong oxidative potential, chemical stability, low toxicity, and favorable electronic properties. Ag is incorporated to form SnO₂/Ag heterojunctions with the objective of enhancing charge separation and suppressing electron–hole recombination. Material characterization confirmed successful heterojunction formation and uniform Ag dispersion.
Photocatalytic performance was assessed using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy to monitor fluorescent organic compounds and conventional NA analysis to quantify removal. Raw OSPW exhibited characteristic fluorescence peaks associated with single‑ and multiring aromatics. Under simulated solar irradiation, photolysis and unmodified SnO₂ produced minimal changes in fluorescence intensity, indicating limited degradation. In contrast, an optimally Ag‑modified SnO₂/Ag catalyst produced a pronounced reduction in all major fluorescence peaks, particularly those linked to multi‑ring aromatics, demonstrating substantially enhanced photocatalytic activity. NA degradation followed similar trends, with simpler O₂‑substituted NAs being more readily oxidized than more complex and highly oxidized species. Performance decreased at both lower and higher Ag contents, with excessive Ag loading leading to increased charge recombination and light‑shielding effects, consistent with photoluminescence results. Kinetic analysis indicated pseudo‑first‑order behavior, and dark adsorption controls confirmed that removal was dominated by photocatalytic oxidation rather than sorption.
Mechanistic studies using radical scavengers identified hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) as the primary reactive species driving NA degradation. The optimized SnO₂/Ag catalyst maintained high removal efficiency over multiple reuse cycles with minimal Ag leaching, indicating good stability and reusability under solar irradiation. Toxicological assessment of treated OSPW showed a strong reduction in immunotoxic responses, demonstrating that the process not only removes target organics but also substantially mitigates biological effects. In addition, two new performance indicators were introduced to support more robust comparison of photocatalytic systems for complex industrial effluents such as OSPW.
Overall, this study demonstrates that optimally engineered SnO₂/Ag photocatalysts can deliver efficient, solar‑driven degradation of NAs and significant toxicity reduction in real OSPW. At an optimum catalyst dose of 0.5 g/L, the SnO₂/Ag (5%) catalyst achieved around 90% removal of the O₂‑NAs and a strong decrease in immunotoxic responses. These results highlight SnO₂/Ag photocatalysis as a promising and more sustainable pathway for tailings water remediation.