Our team completed construction and commissioning of the Canmore Water Treatment Plant No. 2 and Raw Water Intake, one of Canmore’s two primary drinking water sources over the last 40 years.
Located beside the Rundle Forebay, the plant treats surface water from mountain snowmelt and supplies drinking water to the west side of the Trans-Canada Highway, including Harvie Heights, Deadman’s Flats, and northwest Canmore. The new facility was constructed directly above an existing reservoir, adjacent to the existing Canmore Pumphouse No 2., which remained fully operational throughout construction, with only brief planned interruptions during critical tie-ins.
A major component of the project was replacing the raw water intake. Working with divers and a 75-ton crane positioned on the dam crest, our team installed a new stainless steel intake line inside a concrete casing, along with a fish screen measuring 1,270 mm in diameter and 3,430 mm in length in the Rundle Forebay, completing the in-water scope in just 15 days.
The upgraded plant now uses a three-train direct filtration process followed by UV disinfection and sodium hypochlorite injection, replacing the old chlorine gas system with a safer approach. Our self-perform concrete team placed 680 cubic metres of concrete, including new backwash and wet-well tanks, a support wall inside the existing reservoir, and a second-floor mezzanine, while the building’s exterior was designed to reflect Canmore’s mountain resort character.
Once the new plant was commissioned and proven in operation, our team carefully decommissioned the original pumphouse, repurposing part of its structure for additional backwash storage rather than demolishing it outright.
Through this project, Canmore now has a modernized water treatment facility built to meet demand through 2041, with improved redundancy, efficiency, and environmental performance that will serve the community for decades to come.
