Deep dig secures future water flow
Massive Hanlan Project one of largest in region’s history

Yorkregion.com
June 19, 2014
By Peter Criscione

Much of Rome’s expansion in the ancient world is attributed to the might of its army.

But it was advancements in engineering, particularly the introduction of the aqueduct, that allowed Roman society to expand and flourish.

Two millennia later, and water management is still central to the success of our urban centres.

On Wednesday, local dignitaries gathered at the Arsenal Lands in south Mississauga to mark the start of a tunnelling operation and the next stage in Peel Region’s massive Hanlan Water Project.

“The project has been well engineered and well designed and should serve Peel for the next 100 years,” said Allan Thompson, Caledon councillor and chair of Peel Public Works.

Over the next several months, this massive tunnel machine, named Celtic Tiger, will sink its teeth into a section of Mississauga’s lakeshore area in the largest and most extensive engineering initiative ever undertaken in Peel Region.

The Hanlan Water Project includes the installation of a 2,400-mm (2.4 metres or 8 foot) diameter feedermain and a 1,500-mm (1.5 m or 5 ft) Mississauga City Centre sub-transmission watermain.

The $400 million project is needed to meet the water demands of future growth, including the Mississauga city centre core as well as parts of Brampton and York Region.

Peel’s population will hit two million people over the next 20 years.

Thompson called the project a “significant milestone for Peel.“

Meanwhile, as local dignitaries caught an official glimpse of the machine before it tunnels into the earth, water experts from across Canada and the world gathered in Malton to talk about challenges cities face in water management.

“What is being required of the water sector is growing. Pipes are getting older and more expensive to replace. At the same time, the financial model with which water infrastructure was financed is falling apart,” said Christopher Gasson, publisher of Global Water Intelligence and a leading authority on water as a business.

Gasson was one of several panelists to speak at the 2014 edition of the Canadian Water Summit held Wednesday at the International Centre near Pearson Airport. David Miller, president and chief executive of WWF Canada, and former Toronto mayor, was the event moderator.

Panelists tackled a varied of topics related to water, including the impact of climate change and storm sewer management, as well as the huge cost of maintaining water infrastructure.

Gasson talked about the difficulty cities face in keeping up with infrastructure upkeep. The inability of the tax base to cover the complete cost of projects means many cities are forced to borrow.

Except, Gasson noted, an already overburdened tax base has little appetite for extended levies.

He suggested the users of the system, not taxpayers, should pay for infrastructure improvements.

Peel Region borrowed more than $1 billion last year to cover large infrastructure projects, including the Hanlan Water Project. The regional municipality hopes to recoup that debt through development.

Peel has also approved drastic increases to the utility rate for the next few years (seven per cent in 2014) to cover upgrades. This year’s rate went up by $39 based on average consumption in Peel.

Despite year over year increases, Thompson said Peel still delivers water at the lowest price of any jurisdiction in North America.

The Hanlan feedermain will run 14.5 km from the Lakeview Water Treatment Plant on Lake Ontario to the Hanlan Reservoir and Pumping Station at Tomken Rd. and Britannia Rd. E. A subtransmission main will also run some 6 km from the Hanlan Reservoir and Pumping Station to the intersection of Cawthra Rd. and Burnhamthorpe Rd.

Peel has divided the Hanlan projects into three contracts.

Celtic Tiger is for what Peel calls Contract One, which encompasses Lakeshore Rd., from Lakefront Promenade to Dixie Rd., and Dixie Rd. from Lakeshore Rd. to Golden Orchard Dr. The length of Contract One is 5.8 km and is worth $103 million.

Work is also being done at Dixie Road, at Golden Orchard to Eastgate Parkway as part of Contract Two. Contract Two is also being done mainly underground using two boring machines and costs $245 million. According to staff, Contract Two's tunnelling machines are named after undisclosed Disney characters.

Hanlan Feedermain Contract 3 goes from Eastgate Parkway from Dixie Road to Cawthra Road and includes a mixture of open cut and tunnelling work.

Construction on the Hanlan Water Project began in 2011 and expected to wrap up by early 2017.