Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. (KWL) and McElhanney Ltd. were recognized recently by the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies–British Columbia (ACEC-BC).
The companies won in the Natural Resource and Habitat category for their work on the
One ofthedozens of ancient waterways in the Lower Mainland, Guichon Creek in Burnaby, B.C. flows south to north through thecentreof the campus of British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).
“We’re really proud of the work our team did on the project,” says AndrewKolper, senior hydrotechnical engineer at KWL,whichacted as hydrotechnical engineers. “It was a big team, and we all worked well together.
“We reduced flooding on the school campus and enabled salmon to spawn in the creek for the first time in 60 years.”
JoeCosh, BCIT’s director of facilities improvements, saysuntil about 1970the creek was still in its natural state.
“A 400-metre section of it was culverted through thecentreof the campus, and the northern portion was culverted around 1973.”
Over time, water slowly eroded the corrugated steel pipe through which the creek flowed. In 2023, a three-metrehole collapsed into the ground near the school’s recreationcentre.
Working with BCIT, the team, led by KWL and McElhanney, decided against replacing the culvert. Instead, they opted to design a daylit, vegetated corridor and naturalized fishway, and to restore the connection between the upper and lower portions of the creek.
Stream daylighting is an ecological restoration process whereby buried pipes areremovedand surface habitat is restored to allow natural creeks to flow as surface water again.
“Daylighting the creek is a key part of BCIT’s master plan, so we took this opportunity to not only repair a failure but to move the needle on the progress of naturalizing the campus,” saysCosh.
The uncovered sections of the creek are natural community amenities and resilient sustainable infrastructure, he says.
“This project may have proven to be of benefit in its own right, but it is only a single step on the path,” saysCosh. “ thatwill further uncover the creek in a sustainable and responsible way.”
The Guichon Creek project faceda number ofcomplications.
“Because all of the work was done while BCIT was in session, we had to pay close attention to everyone’s health and safety,” saysKolper.
The work on the stream attracted the curious, so the team was kept busy managing vehicle traffic and pedestrian movement.
The delivery of concrete box culverts that were an important part of the daylighting project was delayed.
“As a result, the work ended up being done during the rainiest part of the year,” saysKolper.
A diversion channel was built to go around the damagedculvertand it was designed to be able to withstand a serious flood.
“The channel worked as it was supposed to,” saysKolper. “There was flooding that winter, but no serious damage.”
A major accomplishment is the new fish ladder in the creek.
The originalculvertedsystem included a two-metrespillway that pushed water into the underground pipe system, which blocked salmon on their migration to spawn.
Crews excavated a 25-metre section of creek that was buried near the BCIT gym. They removed the corrugated steel culvert pipes and steep walls to create a stream bed.
Where culverts were still needed, the corrugated steel piping was replaced with concrete culverts that were shaped for the fish to pass safely through.
And crews installed a salmon ladder that will let chum travel past the site of the spillway.
The Guichon Creek daylighting project is part of which is itself part of the BCIT Campus Master Plan. Plans call for furtheropening upof the creek andrefurbishing ofits environs.
Kolpersays KWL is currently in detailed design to daylight 80metresof the creek in the downstreamportionat the Concert Properties Centre for Trade and Technology.
Completion of that project is expected in 2027-28.
“We’ve also done the conceptual design for the remaining daylighting of the creek,” saysKolper.
For more information onalltheaward winners
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