For Immediate Release
2004-08-10
For further information contact:
Cindie Ashton, Communications Officer - 546-4291, extension 3116
FINAL SECTIONS OF PIPE ARRIVE FOR CATARAQUI RIVER UTILITY CROSSING
The first of three remaining sections of new pipe necessary to complete the Cataraqui River Utility Crossing project arrived in Kingston today, passing under the La Salle Causeway at 6:00 a.m.
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RELATED LINKS
CATARAQUI WEB CAM
Watch the work progress on Cataraqui River Utility Crossing project with the Cataraqui Web Cam.
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"A barge towing an 800 metre section of water pipe left the Bay of Qunite, in Belleville, yesterday" says Jim Miller, Manager of the Utility's Technical Services. "And if the weather cooperates, the two remaining 800 metre sections of sewage pipe will be floated from Belleville later this week".
Once they are floated into place, connected and sunk into position, the three pipes will each stretch just over one kilometre beneath the Great Cataraqui River.
"Of the three pipes, two will be used to transport sewage from River Street to the Ravensview Water Pollution Control Plan. The third, a 400 millimetre pipe, will transport water from the King Street Water Purification Plant to City east residents", adds Miller. The sewage pipes are one metre in diameter.
The project is expected to wrap up early this fall, but will be immediately followed by a related project to upgrade and increase storage and capacity at the River Street pumping station, which pumps sewage into the pipes and across the River.
More information and live images of the work in progress are available on the Utilities Kingston Web site.
BACKGROUND
The water main and sewage forcemains were installed under the river in 1955. The sewage forcemain conveys sewage generated by approximately 60,000 people living and working west of the river to the Ravensview Water Pollution Control Plant located east of the river. The water main carries water from the King Street Purification Plant west of the river to about 10,000 people living east of the river.
Since they were installed, both the water main and the sewage forcemain have operated without problems. In 1997, divers conducted visual inspections and found no signs of pipe movement or leakage.
However, these pipes are now almost 50 years old and, if problems were to occur, there is no backup in place for either system. Furthermore, the River Street Pumping Station, which pumps sewage through the forcemain, has insufficient storage to handle flows during wet weather events. As a result, combined sewer overflows to the river occur during heavy rainfall when storage capacity is exceeded.
Combined sewers are sewers that collect sanitary sewage from buildings as well as rainwater and snowmelt from streets.
A provincial class environmental assessment (EA) was completed to determine how best to address system reliability and environmental protection concerns with the existing crossings. Several alternatives were considered in consultation with technical and community advisors and the general public. The preferred solution identified at the conclusion of the study was twinning of the existing water main and sewage force main by means of dredging. The Great Cataraqui River Utilities Crossing EA was registered on public record and approved in July 2001.
Detailed investigations were conducted over the subsequent year leading to preparation of the Great Cataraqui River Utilities Crossing Project: Preliminary Design Report, which confirms the technical feasibility of the proposed construction approach and provides design parameters for the new water main and sewage forcemain. Clearing a final hurdle, the municipality received technical approval of its use of the lands adjacent to the City of Kingston snow disposal facility on Division Street as a temporary storage and dewatering facility for dredged material.
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