Client: Markham District Energy
Year: 2023
Project Highlights
- 1.6 km of distribution piping installed (Pre-insulated 350mm EN253 heating pipe and 750mm HDPE DR11 cooling pipe).
- Permitting and stakeholder engagement including Toronto Regional Conservation Authority (TRCA), York Region, City of Markham Municipal Consent, Metrolinx, Technical Safety Standards Association (TSSA), Ministry of Transportation, Infrastructure Ontario and private property developers.
- Engaged archeological/indigenous review, geotechnical and ecological studies, topographical and legal survey, hydrovac utility underground investigation, and excess soils management reporting.
- Hot tap connections to live heating and cooling lines to minimize downtime and service interruptions.
Expanding a Distribution Piping System in Markham’s Downtown Core
Birchmount Energy Centre (BEC) is one of three CHP plants comprising of Markham District Energy’s (MDE) thermal energy system. The BEC services Markham Centre and Markham East Precinct, with distribution piping originally existing along Birchmount Rd, Enterprise Drive, and throughout the Eastern Region of Markham. To enable future growth and support new development in the east precinct of Markham, MDE undertook a major expansion of their thermal distribution network.
This strategic infrastructure expansion included the installation of four new distribution pipes; two hot water and two chilled water lines; designed to deliver reliable thermal energy to emerging residential, commercial, and institutional buildings. Through this project, MDE has enhanced their system capacity, improving energy resilience, and supporting the City of Markham’s long-term sustainability and development goals as the city grows.
This distribution piping project involved the installation of 1.6 km of two (2) 350mm pre-insulated EN253 hot water pipes, and two (2) HDPE DR11 cooling pipes in Markham’s downtown core. This pipe routing included:
- Hot tapping into existing distribution pipes. For the cooling system, 600mm and 400mm connections were installed on existing 650mm and 450mm pipes respectively. For the heating system, a 250mm hot tap was carried out on the existing 250mm pipe.
- City of Markham Municipal Consent Permit.
- Crossing of a TRCA regulated area and storm culvert requiring a Wetlands and Alterations to Shorelines and Watercourses Infrastructure Planning Permit. This involved an environmental/ecological management plan, and geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations.
- Installation of buried infrastructure along a Metrolinx corridor requiring a Metrolinx Third Party Work Permit.
- Crossing of a York Durham Sanitary Sewer, requiring a Regional approvals and Municipal Consent Permit.
- Installation of piping in existing, congested roadways. To accommodate utility clearances and space constraints, piping was installed in a stacked (2×2) configuration.
- Coordination with property developers to ensure new piping does not interfere with planned developments.
FVB Energy is the prime consultant for the entirety of this project completing the financial and hydraulic analysis modeling, detailed design, procurement assistance, and was the principal site field inspector and Engineer of Record for this project. Detailed design of this project was completed in January 2023, with construction breaking ground in February 2023, and system operation in 2024. FVB would also like to acknowledge the geotechnical and environmental sub-consultant Associated Engineering Ltd., Palmer Engineering, Thurber Engineering and the contractor R.B. Somerville for their contributions to this project.
Keywords
Distribution Piping System, MDE