WCW26

The Southport Fire Pump Replacement project involved upgrading the municipality's fire protection system by replacing a diesel-powered fire pump with an electric fire pump and generator. The project was driven by the need to resolve deteriorating operational output and, critically, to enhance public drinking water safety. By removing the old diesel-powered fire pump located above the treated water storage reservoirs, the replacement system eliminated a substantial contamination risk, aligning with best practices for drinking water safety. The new pump was required to be an NFPA 20 rated system to provide fire protection for numerous airport hangers, industrial facilities, and commercial buildings (as mandated by insurance requirements). Unlike typical fire pump installations, this fire pump was directly integrated into the potable water distribution network. This unusual configuration necessitated that all components and appurtenances (including the pump, piping, and valves) meet NSF 61 requirements for materials in contact with drinking water. The project's primary technical challenge was the final calibration and programming required to balance fire pump operation with the existing distribution pump flow.

Eastern Pressure Solution - Abstract -Final.pdf

The multidisciplinary Dewdney Avenue Corridor Revitalization project provides a unique opportunity for the City of Regina to rehabilitate underground utilities and simultaneously support and encourage new development within the adjacent Yards Neighbourhood.
Dewdney Avenue is a critical part of Regina’s roadway network and serves as much more than just an arterial roadway connection for everyday commuter travel. There is an abundance of uses along its broader length, including such important community-centered assets as the Pasqua Hospital, RCMP Heritage Museum, Government House, Luther College, Evraz Place, older development (North Central), newer development (Westerra), and the Global Transportation Hub.
The rehabilitation of Dewdney Avenue will assist the City in achieving several key goals identified in the City Centre Core Framework (April 2021), including:


-  Investing in infrastructure to support City Centre Core Development, and
-  Connecting Land Areas within the City Centre Core.


The 600mm trunk water main along Dewdney Avenue was replaced due to its age and condition, along with the addition of two 450mm direct connections to service the Yard’s site. These sizes will satisfy the fire flow requirements for the development on site.
Wastewater was designed to be collected by 300mm collection sewers, that eventually tie into a 900mm domestic trunk main down the center of Dewdney Avenue. This main was upsized from the historical 375mm VCT main to better accommodate regional flows as well as future expansion in The Yards.
Stormwater management was reviewed to address ponding issues at the Broad Street underpass. While the City of Regina has decided to hold off on addressing this issue until concrete plans for The Yards become available, a 600mm storm main and 1500mm manhole were added for a future connection to a potential stormwater detention pond on The Yards.
Upgraded cross-sections facilitate streetscape features that improve the existing conditions along Dewdney Avenue and provide a more ‘complete streets’ feel for all users.  The completed cross-section for Dewdney Avenue includes two travel lanes in each direction (outside lane to be used for in-lane transit stops and for on-street parking during off peak hours), a raised median, a boulevard for transit infrastructure, streetlights and trees/plantings, wide sidewalks, and an activation zone. An interim multi-use pathway along the southside of Dewdney Avenue has also been constructed.

This presentation explores business continuity planning and emergency response from a Distribution and Collection perspective. It covers strategies for managing transmission line failures within Aquatera’s regional system, identifying single points of failure, and building redundancy into distribution and collection networks. The session will also highlight approaches for rapid water quality response during contamination events or system disruptions, and how preventative maintenance and operational planning support both reliability and emergency readiness.

For any modern municipality, the water utility is the backbone of community health and economic stability. Yet the management of these critical linear and vertical assets often suffers from a "visibility gap." In Regina, our research into the current state of Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater infrastructure identified a common set of strategic hurdles: fragmented data silos, "un-intelligent" asset identification, and a lack of a formal asset hierarchy to support sophisticated lifecycle planning. Without a unified "source of truth," utilities are forced into a reactive cycle— addressing failures as they happen rather than by strategy.
To bridge this gap, the Asset Management team at City has developed a comprehensive Asset Registry Project, creating a standardized Asset Integrity Foundation that harmonizes data across all three water branches. This isn't just a technical database; it is a business framework designed to deliver Clean Data and Clear Views for decision-makers at every level.
The framework follows a logical flow from raw data ingestion to high-level data intelligence:

• Defining the Scope (Descriptions, Inclusions & Exclusions): Before categorization, we established Asset Descriptions. By clearly defining "Inclusions" and "Exclusions," we eliminated ambiguity regarding physical asset boundaries. This step ensures that every component—from a main line to a specific fitting—is recognized at the correct level, preventing overlap and ensuring technical consistency between linear networks and vertical facilities.
• The Foundation (Identification & Hierarchy): We replaced legacy, siloed labels with a unified, intelligent identification system. By componentizing assets into a structured hierarchy, we ensure that every valve, pipe, and lift station is recognized as a distinct entity for maintenance and renewal planning.
• The Intelligence (Static vs. Dynamic Attributes): Our model distinguishes between an asset’s "DNA"—its Static Attributes like Asset ID, Material, and Ownership—and its "Pulse"—the Dynamic Attributes. This allows us to track real-time operational health, including maintenance status, life-cycle costs (LCC), risk assessment parameters, and KPI-driven condition assessments.
• The Payoff (Strategic Lifecycle Management): By creating a blueprint for refined data insertion into GIS and Financial systems, we have established a closed-loop data flow. This enables a proactive shift from complaint-driven repairs to planned, condition-based interventions that stabilize budgets and provide data-backed justification for capital funding.

While currently established as a strategic framework, this project serves as the critical blueprint for Regina’s future utility operations. By completing this essential 'pre-work'—standardizing hierarchies and attribute models now—the City is positioned for a seamless transition into a sophisticated Work Order Asset Management System (WCAS) or Asset Management System (AMS).
Attendees will learn how this foundational registry ensures that when implementation begins, the City’s digital systems will be powered by 'Clean Data' from day one. Ultimately, this framework provides the roadmap to transform Regina’s Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater networks into a transparent, managed portfolio, ensuring long-term financial stewardship and infrastructure resilience.

The City of Saskatoon, with Hamm Construction Ltd. as the main contractor, completed a non‑destructive condition assessment of the 750‑mm 4th Avenue Primary Watermain in September 2025. Pure Technologies, a Xylem brand, conducted a depressurized inspection using the tethered electromagnetic platform to evaluate the condition of prestressing wires in prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP). A total of 672 metres of pipe, 101 individual pipe sections were inspected, and electromagnetic data was analyzed to identify anomalies associated with broken wire wraps. In the absence of as-built records or manufacturer specifications, calibration relied on mathematical modelling informed by historical data and industry expertise. 
 
The project highlights the value of advanced robotics‑enabled condition assessment technologies in providing municipalities with actionable data, improving risk‑based decision‑making, and supporting system reliability for aging PCCP transmission mains.

Every year, thousands of miles of waterlines are installed in North America through new projects and replacement of aging infrastructure. Decisions on prioritizing pipeline replacement projects are based on the age of the water network and its performance. In addition, decisions on which materials to use for replacing aging infrastructure are based on relative performance and cost.
Since the initial cost does not represent the true value of the water pipeline, asset managers give preference to strength, durability, and life cycle cost of their water and wastewater pipelines.
DIPRA’s extensive research in corrosion protection led to a comprehensive risk-based model, which identifies several asset management strategies presently in use in North America, dealing with the potential for external and internal corrosion of buried Ductile iron pipelines.
In this Presentation, we will discuss the significant benefits that could be derived by utility owners if they consider to design, operate and maintain their infrastructure using these strategies, ultimately resulting in fewer unplanned repairs, and in the long term, a lower total cost of operation.

Lagoon facilities in Canada are facing more stringent effluent requirements for BOD, TSS, and nutrient removal. This presentation will demonstrate an updated approach for lagoon-based wastewater treatment and will provide a comparison of past lagoon design standards to current ones and introduce advanced lagoon technologies that can be implemented for nutrient removal strategies. In-depth case studies will be included to showcase how lagoons in cold climates are being successfully updated to effectively meet current and future effluent requirements.
Attendees will:

• Learn how lagoon technology has evolved to meet changing effluent standards for BOD, TSS and Nutrient removal.
• Gain insight into the value of process modelling for designing efficient and effective lagoon- based treatment systems for Canada’s effluent requirements. 

Understand how traditional lagoon systems were designed and their typical treatment performance. 

Rural water networks present a unique modelling challenge: long transmission distances, low system pressures, variable usage patterns, and the use of private cisterns create demand behaviors that differ significantly from conventional municipal systems. Traditional hydraulic modelling approaches—built around predictable diurnal curves and instantaneous customer demand—often fail to capture the intermittent, batch‑draw patterns of cistern‑supplied users. As a result, model results, pressure prediction, and operational capacity can be unreliable.
 
This presentation explores the development and refinement of a hydraulic model for a low‑pressure rural distribution system owned by Intervalley Water Inc. and supplied by the Saskatoon Water Treatment Plant and SaskWater. The system, operating with pressures as low as 20 psi, relies on customer storage rather than direct supply, creating hydraulically stable but operationally complex conditions. Model results are further skewed by several high-demand livestock agriculture operations. Through a series of targeted innovations— including pressure logging campaigns (both short and long term), improved zone-specific peaking factors based on actual water use, and handheld GPS surveyed coordinates to support GIS records— the model’s accuracy has improved enough to avoid lengthy approval processes for the addition of new users.
 
Attendees will learn how these innovative modelling strategies help better capture real‑world behavior in low‑pressure networks, leading to more reliable system optimization, capital planning, and operational decision‑making. The session will provide practical guidance, lessons learned, and a replicable workflow for water professionals working with unconventional or rural distribution systems.

The City’s Small Diameter Watermain Renewal Program is focused on modernizing aging residential infrastructure. However, successful delivery involves far more than pipe replacement. This joint City–AECOM presentation would provide insight into how projects are prioritized, designed, & constructed, and what contractors, consultants, and suppliers should understand to position themselves for future renewal work.
 
The presentation would highlight practical insights into:

• Risk-based infrastructure renewal 
• Program delivery strategies
• Industry collaboration opportunities
• Construction considerations in residential corridors

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.

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.

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.
 

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.

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.