Eagle Heights Reservoir Replacement

2023-Ongoing | Duncan, BC

The City of Duncan’s water source included four deep wells and three reservoirs situated near the Cowichan River. One of the reservoirs is known as the Eagle Heights Reservoir and was built in 1979. The Eagle Heights Reservoir was due for replacement; the City recognized that its 1,360m square volume (about half the volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool) would not meet the growth demands of the community.

In 2023, the City of Duncan engaged McElhanney to tackle the first phase of the Eagle Heights reservoir replacement project by providing a new reservoir design. The new reservoir needed to be positioned adjacent to the existing reservoirs on a parcel about the same size as a basketball court. McElhanney was challenged to design a reservoir that would nearly double the storage volume of the existing structure within the site’s constraints.

Dual, steel bolted reservoirs, connected by an overhead walkway, were designed to provide 2,500m square total storage capacity. McElhanney’s design also included an above ground valve kiosk and a de-chlorination process to manage the potential overflow of treated water, and geotechnical investigations of the surrounding marine sediments. In addition, the new reservoir needed to include level control through the existing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) platform.

The project’s electrical scope included revisions to the existing BC Hydro service and power distribution, site lighting, seismic sensor for control of electric shut off valve, level sensing, and security monitoring as required by City standards.

Following the completion of Phase 1, McElhanney will be engaged for Phase 2 (tender and construction services for the site preparation work) and Phase 3 (tender and construction services for the construction of the new reservoir, commissioning of the new systems, and decommissioning of the existing reservoir).

McElhanney provided: