April 6, 2010

RCYC

The historic Royal Canadian Yacht Clubhouse on Toronto Island required a new watermain because an insurance company feared the 1920s wood frame structure was not adequately protected by an existing sprinkler system which had low water pressure. The project came with several challenges, not the least of which was ferrying equipment from the mainland and a tight schedule over winter.

FEATURE | Sewer and Watermain

Fire fears fuelled fix for Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto

Insurance company demanded higher water pressure for sprinklers

DAN O’REILLY

correspondent

Fears there wouldn’t be enough water pressure if fire broke out at the prestigious Royal Canadian Yacht Clubhouse on Toronto Island was the catalyst for a complicated and challenging watermain project.

Horizontal directional drilling was used to install a 535-metre-long, 200-mm HDPE watermain linking the historic 1920s building with the City of Toronto’s main watermain system. It sits 4.5 metres below the lagoon bed. Design consultant on the project was Totten Sims Hubicki Associates (now Aecom).

Design build contractor Avertex Utility Solutions Inc. had to ferry equipment from the mainland, drill under two lagoons and deal with loose wet sands.

Those were just some of the obstacles, says Garry Benner, president, Underground Consulting Inc., the project manager and overall consultant.

AVERTEX UTILITY SYSTEMS

The 200-mm HDPE pipe from RCYC’s northern island to its southern island.

“The club’s insurer demanded action and timing was tight to get the necessary approvals and implement a solution before the clubhouse re-opened in May 2009.”

The deadline drove the yacht club to agree to a design build proposal instead of its standard three-bid policy, says Benner.

Toronto Island is comprised of a major island known as Centre Island and a series of smaller ones. The yacht club occupies two islands, known as south and north — where the clubhouse is located. The only land connection is a narrow right-of-way where the original watermain had been originally.

“Construction along this corridor would have been very difficult due to limited working space and wet sand conditions below lake level. It would have also blocked access to other contractors who were working on other projects at the clubhouse.”

Faced with those restrictions, UCI recommended an entirely new service be constructed by horizontal drilling from Centre Island under a lagoon to the south island and from there under a second lagoon to the north island.

As the horizontal directional drilling involved no in-water construction coupled with the urgent need to resolve a fire safety issue, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was able to fast-track the approval process allowing the project to start in February 2009.

The winter construction start was conducive for the installation of a large metering chamber on Centre Island. Its large concrete sections could be easily transported over frozen grassed areas, he explains.

Even so, construction on the Toronto islands poses particular logistical problems.

“All labour, equipment and materials must be brought over on ferries and contractor hours are determined by the ferry schedules.”

That was a formidable undertaking considering all the equipment and the drilling fluid also had to be removed from the island once the project was finished, says Avertex vice president Andy Blokker.

Included in that list of heavy equipment was the valve chamber, a 60-ton-crane and a large excavator which were required to install the chamber, says Blokker.

And those were just the challenges of getting to the main island. Accessing the yacht club property was another matter. Not only is the north island only accessible to small vehicles, a bridge which connects it with the south island couldn’t support the weight of the drill rig, he says.

“We felt the best option was to set up on the south island, drill south under the lagoon to the main Toronto Island and then turn around and drill north to the north island under the other lagoon,” says Blokker.

With the tight timetable the contractor couldn’t wait for spring and ice-free water. So the equipment was placed on a barge which “dug” its way through the ice to the island, he says.

For the most part the drilling operation under the south island was relatively straight forward with few problems. But that wasn’t the case on the north island where the loose sand ground conditions made the drilling extremely difficult.

“We had to change the drilling fluid and add more additives to hold the formation of the bore hole.”

As the drilling reached the clubhouse the project became even more onerous. With few records of the numerous forgotten utilities and watermains in the area, hand digging had to be used in multiple locations.

There were also a number of abandoned drilling operations when the contractor encountered several unexpected obstacles including an old stone wall buried underneath the lawn. Nevertheless the installation was completed on time, says Blokker.

Shortly after that connection was made the project’s success was validated by the RCYC’s insurers who confirmed the new watermain delivered sufficient water to satisfy the clubhouse’s sprinkler requirements, says Benner.

Another measuring stick of the project’s success is that the design build process resulted in prices more than 35 per cent lower than a similar project, on the islands a few years ago, delivered through the public tender process, says Benner.

Print | Email | Comment