WCW26

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 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.

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. 

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.