The City of Kelowna operates a diversion structure that conveys flood flows from the Mill Creek watershed to the adjacent Mission Creek watershed to prevent flooding of downtown Kelowna during freshet. Originally designed and built in the late 1980s, the capacity of the structure has been insufficient to prevent flooding in recent years. Teaming with MidSea Engineering (now a part of CIMA+), EDI provided environmental support associated with increasing the capacity of the diversion by upsizing and improving the diversion dam structure (Phase 1) and adding dikes upstream (Phase 2).
As the Environmental Project Lead through the design, permitting and construction phases, EDI was responsible for assessment, design support, permitting and environmental monitoring of construction. More specifically, in this role, EDI:
- undertook baseline assessments and developed environmental assessments for each phase
- provided design input for environmental considerations including riparian management, fish passage and fisheries habitat changes
- created construction environmental management plans
- led regulatory liaison efforts
- obtained required municipal, provincial and federal approvals (Development Permit, Water Sustainability Act, Fisheries Act)
- supported Dike Act and Dam Safety Act submissions
- developed offsetting plans
- oversaw environmental monitoring during construction
The Mill Creek Project has won two awards: 1) a national award from the Canadian Consulting Engineer Association and 2) Project of the Year by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) in the Small to Medium category.