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Replacement of raw water intakes

gbi was mandated to carry out engineering services for the replacement of two raw water pipes which were partly inside each other, in the bottom of Lake Memphremagog, for the municipality of Canton de Potton and the Mount Owl's Head ski resort: a project that is not at all usual.

Markets
Environment, Infrastructure, Water treatment
Submarkets
Biology, Hydraulic, Pumping, Water
Expertise
Engineering, Project design and supervision, Environment
Services
Biology, Civil, Electricity, Mechanic
Year
2021 - 2023

Carefully assess needs

The ski resort and the municipality each wanted to have their own water intake: an opportunity to revitalize the city's water supply infrastructure, while planning for increased flow for the future.

It was also necessary to take into consideration the fact that the ski resort had pre-purchased snow production equipment. gbi engineers integrated this European model equipment into the system. The ski resort also wanted to increase the flow and have colder water to produce snow more efficiently and for longer.

Environmental complexity

Environmental protection was taken into consideration from start to finish throughout the implementation of the project.

During the project, we mapped the seabed in order to place our anchors in the right places and avoid surprises during digging periods. Environmental aspects were respected by the teams during sensitive work in Lake Memphremagog and mitigation measures had been planned upstream and identified in the plans and specifications.

These are mitigation measures that have been put forward by our teams to minimize the impacts of noise and vibrations from blasting and hammering. Indeed, an air curtain (a flexible perforated pipe with an air compressor placed at the bottom of the lake which reduces the speed of dispersion of sound waves and the impact of shock waves) makes it possible not to disturb the fish and the marine fauna was also set up for jackhammer work.

Well anchored for years

Given the depth of the lake and the very steep slope, it was necessary to anchor the pipeline from Mount Owl's Head to the underwater rock wall, rather than placing it at the bottom of the lake, as is the standard case.

The project required taking into account factors such as: depth, type of rocks and walls and length of screws, to ensure the strength of the anchors. To drill the rock, several techniques were used such as blasting out of the water and digging with a very long hammer on the stone pier in the lake.