2011 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards Environmental Remediation Rupert River Weirs -- 1--- 2011 Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards Environmental Remediation Rupert-River-Weirs Rupert-River-Weirs 2011-Canadian-Consulting-Engineering-Awards Environmental-Remediation Contents- Official Entry Form Executive Summary ...............................................................................i Project Summary ................................................................................... 1 Complexity ................................................................................................. 2 Innovation ................................................................................................... 3 Why AECOM Project Particulars Environmental Impact ......................................................................12 Social and Economic Benefits ....................................................13 Exceeding client needs ....................................................................14 Budget Schedule Human Resources Management Impact on the Canadian Consulting Engineer ..................15 Rupert-River-Weirs 2011-Canadian-Consulting-Engineering-Awards Environmental-Remediation In-carrying-out-this-mandate,-AECOM-drew-on-its- Executive- expertise-to-develop-a-number-of-original-and- tailor-made-solutions-that-restored-the-initial-water- level-to-the-greater-part-of-the-streambanks-to- summary maintain-fish-habitat,-spawning-grounds-and- migration,-and-to-ensure-the-navigability-of-the- The-Rupert-River-weirs-are-part-of-an-extensive- waterways-while-also-giving-the-Cree-communities- hydroelectric-resource-development-project- waterway-access-to-critical-resources.-Following-an- implemented-in-the-James-Bay-Region.-They- in-depth-analysis-of-the-314-km-long-reduced-flow- comprise-a-portion-of-Quebec’s-energy-wealth-and- section,-eight-sites-were-selected-for-the- generate-significant-economic-benefits,-both-locally- construction-of-hydraulic-structures.-Once-the- and-nationally.-The-dual-challenge-of-developing- environmental-issues-and-the-constraints- these-renewable-resources-lies-in-increasing- associated-with-the-different-sites-were-accurately- electrical-power-production-while-lessening-the- established,-the-sections-were-determined-in- environmental-impact.- collaboration-with-the-team’s-environmental- experts. In-2007,-the-James-Bay-Energy-Corporation-(JBEC)- established-the-Eastmain-1-A–Sarcelle–Rupert- The-weirs-were-created-specifically-to-meet-the- project-site-in-order-to-meet-the-growing-demand-for- criteria-for-protecting-the-streambanks-and-spawning- energy.-At-that-time,-the-goal-was-to-maximize-the- grounds.-Fish-passes-allow-aquatic-species-to- energy-production-of-the-existing-powerhouses-of- circulate-freely,-and-the-project-incorporates-rock- the-La-Grande-Hydroelectric-Complex-by-increasing- blanket-that-are-passable-by-fish-and-navigable-by- their-inflow-of-water-due-to-the-Rupert-River- boats.-After-the-construction-of-the-weirs,-the-water- diversion.-The-weirs-were-constructed-in-this- levels-of-the-target-weir-sections-came-to-within- context,-as-they-were-intended-to-allow-the-Rupert- 10-cm-of-the-levels-under-natural-conditions! River-to-retain-its-own-identity,-as-the-result-of- The-river-stretch-influenced-by-the-weirs-are- intelligent-development.-In-September-2004,-AECOM- delimited-by-the-upstream-rapids.-The-project-will- was-assigned-to-implement-six-of-these-eight-weirs- ensure-natural-water-levels-are-maintained-over- for-the-Eastmain-1-A–Sarcelle–Rupert-Project. 48-percent-of-the-river’s-length. AECOM’s-ability-to-assemble-an-experienced- As-four-of-the-environmentally-challenging-weir-sites- multidisciplinary-team,-experience-within-the-region- required-water-levels-to-be-maintained-during-the- and-capabilities-in-meeting-the-challenging-scope-of- construction-phase,-the-team-was-faced-with-new- the-overall-project-(which-comprised-eight-weirs- concerns.-In-addition-to-the-cofferdams,-other- distributed-over-more-than-300-km)-as-well-as-its- tailor-made-solutions-were-created,-including- understanding-of-the-crucial-importance-of-the- temporary-spur-dykes-and-modified-diversion- schedule-for-each-site,-which-aimed-to-limit-the- sequences. impact-on-ecosystems,-made-the-firm-a-crucial- player-within-the-project. --i-- Rupert-River-Weirs 2011-Canadian-Consulting-Engineering-Awards Environmental-Remediation The-team-could-select-appropriate-and-innovative- While-the-JBEC-supervised-the-work,-AECOM- solutions-for-each-site,-namely:- collaborated-closely-in-the-monitoring-aspect-by- providing-technical-assistance-services-at-the-six- -- favouring-certain-rockfill-structures-rather-than- jobsites,-spread-over-a-314-km-distance. concrete-structures-(excellent-integration-in-the- host-environment,-and-production-cost-reduction); AECOM’s-finely-honed-understanding-of-the-work-to- -- KP-20.4-rock-bed,-navigable-by-boats-and-passable- be-carried-out,-which-was-acquired-during-the- by-fish-(this-structure-erected-under-the-water-is- project’s-identification-and-definition-phases,- barely-visible-from-above-ground) enabled-the-firm-to-anticipate-different-questions- -- in-stream-built-dam-at-KP-33,-north-branch- likely-to-be-raised-during-the-project-implementation,- remained-natural-for-the-fish-passage minimizing-the-response-time-and-in-turn- -- spur-Dyke-at-KP-49 maintaining-a-high-level-of-efficiency-in-the-jobsite- -- promoting-the-use-of-streamlined-crests-made-out- work-progress.-Daily-monitoring-of-the-water-levels- of-prefabricated-concrete-for-the-KP-170-weir- at-each-of-the-six-structures-was-conducted-from-a- (saving-time); distance-using-real-time-hydrometric-data. -- Rockfill-weirs-at-KP-290 -- optimizing-the-structures-at-the-scope-statement- Engineering-meetings-took-place-on-site-at-the-rate- phase-using-CATIA-design-software-(a-new-Hydro- of-two-days-per-month-and-regular-jobsite-visits-and- Quebec-standard)-and-preparing-the-necessary- stays-by-experts-during-the-project-implementation- resources-in-a-timely-manner; also-occurred-as-required-during-the-entire-duration- -- optimizing-hydraulic-structures-in-order-to-develop- of-the-work.-This-ongoing-dialogue-between-all-the- different-phases-of-diversion-and-cofferdam-work- stakeholders,-akin-to-tributaries,-provided-an- using-FLOW-3D-modeling-(at-the-time,-these-were- additional-voice-to-the-river. the-first-applications-of-this-software,-which- The-intelligent-construction-of-the-Rupert-River-weirs- subsequently-became-the-Hydro-Québec-standard); enabled-AECOM-to-bridge-the-gap-between-energy- -- developing-original-concepts-for-fish-passes,-in- needs-and-environmental-requirements.-In-carrying- keeping-with-the-specific-constraints-of-each-site.-- out-this-mandate,-AECOM-drew-on-its-expertise-to- The-method-used-for-monitoring-the-fish-pass- develop-a-number-of-original-and-tailor-made- structures-is-based-on-hydraulics-rather-than-the- solutions-that-restored-the-initial-water-level-to-the- counting-of-fish. greater-part-of-the-streambanks-to-maintain-fish- Given-the-fact-that-the-different-phases-of-the-life- habitat,-spawning-grounds-and-migration,-and-to- cycle-of-fish-have-to-be-considered-in-establishing-the- ensure-the-navigability-of-the-waterways-while-also- work-schedule,-the-available-ranges-were- giving-the-Cree-communities-waterway-access-to- consequently-considerably-reduced.-The-engineering- critical-resources.- schedules-were-nevertheless-met,-and-construction- was-two-months-ahead-of-schedule-at-the-KP-170-weir.- Reliable-schedule-performance-constituted-one-of-the- major-challenges-of-the-work,-given-the-expected- diversion-sequence.-A-delay-could-have-resulted-in-the- work-being-taken-out-of-the-contractor’s-hands-or- could-have-caused-flooding. --ii-- Rupert-River-Weirs 2011-Canadian-Consulting-Engineering-Awards Environmental-Remediation Context of public consultation upstream of Project-Summary the project design: The-Rupert-River-weirs-are-part-of-an-extensive- In-September-2004,-AECOM-was-assigned-to- hydroelectric-resource-development-project- implement-six-of-these-eight-weirs-for-the- implemented-in-the-James-Bay-Region.-They-comprise- Eastmain-1-A–Sarcelle–Rupert-Project.-As-part-of-a- a-portion-of-Quebec’s-energy-wealth-and-generate- consultative-development,-a-collaborative-approach- significant-economic-benefits,-both-locally-and- between-the-communities-involved-and-the-JBEC- nationally.-The-dual-challenge-of-developing-these- was-necessary-in-order-to-mitigate-cultural,-social- renewable-resources-lies-in-increasing-electrical-power- and-environmental-impacts. production-while-lessening-the-environmental-impact.- A project resulting directly from these environmental concerns: Energy concerns: The-intelligent-construction-of-the-Rupert-River-weirs- In-2007,-the-James-Bay-Energy-Corporation-(JBEC)- enabled-AECOM-to-bridge-the-gap-between-energy- established-the-Eastmain-1-A–Sarcelle–Rupert- needs-and-environmental-requirements.-In-carrying- project-site-in-order-to-meet-the-growing-demand-for- out-this-mandate,-AECOM-drew-on-its-expertise-to- energy.-At-that-time,-the-goal-was-to-maximize-the- develop-a-number-of-original-and-tailor-made- energy-production-of-the-existing-powerhouses-of-the- solutions-that-restored-the-initial-water-level-to-the- La-Grande-Hydroelectric-Complex-by-increasing-their- greater-part-of-the-streambanks-to-maintain-fish- inflow-of-water-due-to-the-Rupert-River-diversion.-The- habitat,-spawning-grounds-and-migration,- weirs-were-constructed-in-this-context,-as-they-were-